Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario is a tense and messy critique of the drug war on the border of Mexico. When the movie isn’t casting dark silhouettes of men and women, courtesy of acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins, it’s a vicious experience detailing the fallibility of morals in an immoral line of work. Ethical high-grounds are paved over with a carnal fury, tossing itself into the mindset of what is perceived as the greater good.

Emily Blunt leads the movie as Kate Mercer, the fixed point of morality for the audience to latch onto. Her character isn’t naive to the darker aspects of an un-winnable war, though she remains vigilant in her stance against fighting dirty against an enemy thriving in mud. The movie allows her to stand strong in the first half but the second half allows her to burst into one of the most resonant performances of the year.

The real star of the movie is Benicio Del Toro as Alejandro. A mysterious figure who has more in common with a ghost than a human being, Alejandro fits nicely alongside the likes of Breaking Bad‘s Mike Ehrmantraut if he shared the cold demeanor of Gus Fring. He’s not a bad guy, but he’s not necessarily a good one.

Denis Villeneuve made waves with Prisoners and Enemy in 2013 and 2014, retrospectively, and garnered critical acclaim. Prisoners maintains the more striking imagery – though Sicario boasts the more gruesome – and Enemy is more effective, Sicario solidifies the the director as a mainstay for international cinema.