A timely - and sublime - look at the balance between society, the law and those chosen to enforce it...

The UK cinema release of Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within (Tropa de Elite 2: O Inimigo Agora é Outro in Portuguese), could scarcely come at a more timely moment. Released on 12th August, the week following Britain's worst rioting in a generation, the film deals with law, order, human rights and the role of the police.

Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within is set thirteen years after the original film. Captain Nascimento is commander of BOPE, Rio de Janeiro’s special police operations battalion, which is engaged in a bloody war with the city’s savage drug gangs. Under Nascimento’s leadership, BOPE has been so successful that many of the drug gang members are either dead or in Rio’s maximum security prison, Bangu 1. However, when a riot between two rival gangs erupts in Bangu 1, BOPE is called in to control it.

Unfortunately, the operation ends badly, and as a result Rio’s politicians decide Nascimento can no longer remain as head of BOPE. Unable to fire him due to massive public support, they move him into a new role as Sub-secretary of Security. In his new position, Nascimento invests heavily in BOPE, crushing what remains of the gangs. However, the vacuum left by the drug gangs is filled by corrupt cops and paramilitary groups ruling the favelas with a mafia-like operation.

Torn between corrupt right-wing TV demagogues, the newly elected left-wing state representative Fraga, Nascimento must find a way of beating the corruption and mending Rio’s broken system. This is made even more difficult by his increasingly strained relationship between his son and estranged wife, who is now married to Fraga.

Since its Brazilian release on 8th October 2010, Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within has become the holder of a number of records. It has the highest box office ticket sales and is the highest grossing film in Brazilian history, beating the previous record holder, the 1976 comedy Dona Flor and her Two Husbands (Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos in Portuguese).

From the beginning, the audience is tossed around by the stark switches from severe violence to quiet tension. The prison scene is a dynamic onslaught that pulsates between the desperate and savage actions of the convicts and Fraga’s university lecture on Brazil’s prison population. Political ideology is a constant theme throughout the film. The threat to the public posed by drug gangs is seized upon by the right and used as a way of increasing the authoritarian powers of corrupt politicians and police officers. Fraga hates the police and sees Nascimento as the embodiment of the state’s disregard for human rights.

The film forces the audience to question the role and behaviour of the police, evoking the Latin phrase ‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’ – Who will guard the guards themselves? However it is important to note that Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within is by no means an anti-police film. Indeed, one of the things it does brilliantly is to defend society’s need for protection while also highlighting the importance of human rights.

Moura is superb as Captain Nascimento, commanding the screen with a steely-eyed intensity. In the thirteen years between the first film and the sequel, Nascimento has matured and this is clearly apparent in Moura’s performance. Nowhere is this better seen than in the interaction between Nascimento and his disillusioned son Rafa (Van Held). Santos portrays the determined idealism of Fraga fantastically and his clashes with Nascimento are some of the best parts of the film. In addition, the corrupt triumvirate of politicians Fortunato (Mattos) and Gelino (Adrião), and policeman Rocha (Rocha), are exceptional.

Aside from the political suspense that the film has in spades, the action scenes are heart-racingly good. For these, director Jose Padilha enlisted the help of a of Hollywood special effects crew that had worked on films including Independence Day, Transformers and Che Guevara. The effects team’s pedigree is apparent throughout - adding cutting edge realism to a number of gritty action scenes, including a lightning-paced gunfight and the incredible prison riot.

Overall, Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within is a brilliant film which is as intelligent as it is action-packed. Excellent direction by Padilha and fantastic performances from the cast would make it worth watching at any point. However, the violent events of the last week make it a must see.

Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within is in cinemas from tomorrow.

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