This film is a deep and emotional look inside the world of crime, its subterfuge, and its deceit. After watching The Departed, I felt glad and thankful that I had remained straight and upright all my life, and that I didn’t live in a community where thugs with baseball bats came collecting protection money from me in my business.

I don’t know how I missed watching this movie when it came out in 2006. I had thought I had seen it before.

It is a captivating story carried by a powerful cast, including Matt Damon, Leonardi DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg.

The organized crime scene in South Boston is led by ruthless syndicate head Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Frank rules with absolute brutality. He may show up in a morning robe, but he does not shy away from breaking a man’s hand with the heel of a shoe just to make a point. The police send in an undercover agent, Billi Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio), to befriend and infiltrate the mafia. What they don’t know is that one of their own, Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a criminal who has infiltrated the police force and is acting as a “rat” signaling their every move to the mob. The cat and mouse game between the two infiltrators, who do not know each other, becomes ever tighter. Innocent people get drawn in, and soon people start dying.

The Departed is an excellent movie, highly rated when it played in the theaters, and cliffhanger entertainment today for rental prices.

But you have to pronounce it “The Depaaated” to make it sound right for South Boston.

Rating: ***