Johnnie To's magnum opus focuses on the biannual election for the new chairman of a prominent Hong Kong triad, a traditional society of gangsters bound by rules of conduct and codes of honor all its own. Their practices are so taboo that some of the poster designs were banned in Hong Kong. The contest is between laconic and reserved Lam Lok (Simon Yam) and arrogant, loud, obnoxious and impulsive Big D (Tony Leung Ka-fai in one of the best performances of an incredible career). The better man wins but the wild card won’t stand for it, sending two suspect supporters literally down a hill (in a dog-cage no less). The machinations of treachery escalate to brutal proportions as it becomes more and more evident just how metaphorical the dark side of the secret society is for the human race as a whole. One of the greatest gangster films ever, period.