My thoughts ...

(i) Philosophy on sadness/life? 

Although framed as a "crime story", the film is more interested in philosophizing and characterization ... so, please look deeper than "who is guilty? ... or what actually happened? ..."

For those who are not aware, the Chinese title translates to "Hurt" and "City" ... highlighting the fact that all of us must have been hurt by the city sometime somewhen in our life ... many times, we cannot possibly get over these sorrows/events ... 

So, the film deals with how the various characters try to overcome their misery ... should we drink ourself drunk? ... should we seek the truth? ... should we seek vengeance? ... etc ... 

... maybe at the end, we would realize that whatever we have lost, we have already gained it back unknowingly, only to be destroyed by ourselves again ...

... maybe at the end, we thought we would do this and that ... but when it really happened ... we might not ... reality is so unpredictable ... etc

(ii) The entire cast has to be credited ... but I would like to commend on Tony Leong ... wow ... would he get a Best Actor Award in next year's Golden Horse? ... He is intense ... 

As for Takeshi and Xu Jing Lei, they are both great actors who have been given tough roles ... so, watch and tell me how many points you give them ...

There are also great scenes by the supportinmg cast ... esp. Chapman To ... and to some extent, Shu Qi ... but I guess the humor might be better in Cantonese ...

(iii) finally, the soundtrack/music/songs ... to keep the pacing, the soundtrack has an impt role ... likewise, to stir your emtions, a few of the songs really sounded at the correct momemts ...


Conclusion:
Highly recommended ... in particular, i have to commend on Tony Leong ... wow ... would he get a Best Actor Award in next year's Golden Horse? ... if you are a mainstream audience, it has a nice plot to engage you (although it is initially slow, it gets better) ... so, please AVOID reading too many reviews with spoilers, it kind of spoil the fun (if any) ... and if you are a more pensive person, it has some impt messages abt sadness/life ...


PS: Is it another Infernal Affairs? No ... it is actually VERY DIFFERENT ...