Great movie! So happy to have seen this...

I had twice come across this title when reading about the undoubtedly brilliant City of God. So I rented it yesterday and watched it last night and was very pleased to see that it deserved to be mentioned with its compatriot work, CoG.
From the opening credits, the look and feel of the movie was engaging so much so that I turned to my friend I was watching it with and said, 4 minutes into the film, "This is going to be really good." It was already obvious that the person in control knew what they were doing and that they had a vision for the work. Then, the other parts of what make a great movie became apparent. The performances were all top notch. The camera work was outstanding. The writing gave all of the actors great material with which to build their characters. The use of the sound tracks was spot on. The script leads you some directions and then abruptly turns a different direction so that you are no longer so quick to be "sure" about what is coming. My mind was trying to move forward with where they were going and yet tugging on the reigns because I kept getting duped. That particular aspect is perhaps my favorite thing about a very well done film. I said to my friend I watched it with that this movie was shot so that you could watch it without the sound and just plain enjoy the visuals. It was that well done in that department.
Finally, (miner spoiler), the shots are all very tight but for in a particular spot of the film and this device is perfectly utilized to place the viewer into the tightening world of the main character as he gets in over his head.
I highly recommend this movie to those with good taste.

"Deserve's got nothin' to do with it." - William Munny