Watching the layers of story unfold in the film Traffic is like peeling an onion, you keep peeling away, and peeling away at it to get to its heart, but when you’re all said and done, you’ve still got just an onion.

This is a long film, running just under two and a half hours, and the pacing at times is incredibly slow, all the same, it’s kind of like watching a traffic accident, you just can't take your eyes away from it.

The story unfolds in several different, but overlapping narratives. The best of these is the story of Mexican State Policeman Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (Del Toro) and his partner Manolo. Javier is perhaps, the most honest cop in Mexico, and he truly cares more about his country than being on the take. He gets involved with an army general named Salazar, who asks Javier to help him find Francisco Flores (Clifton Collins), an assassin who killed several officers in Salazar’s army. Javier does this with quick precision, and is accepted into Salazar’s inner circle.

Concurrently, San Diego Police Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman) have taken down local drug king-pin Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer), and are in the process of taking him to trial, when he flips on his boss, Carl Ayala (Steven Bauer). Ayala’s wife Helena (Zeta-Jones) freaks out, and is left to fend for herself after her husband is taken into custody.

The final narrative thread involves the newly appointed drug czar, Robert Wakefield (Douglas), and his first few days after appointment. Wakefield’s world is turned upside-down when he slowly realizes that his biggest problem with drugs involves his daughter (Erika Christiansen) who just happens to be falling into the world of crack cocaine.

The three main aspects of the film cross over quite often in seamless fashion, linking all of the dozen or so main characters like a sick game of "The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". It’s brilliantly done, and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat.

The acting is all top-notch, and I have absolutely no idea how Soderbergh convinced all those great actors to be in a $50 million film with no special effects. Douglas is in top form as the impotent drug czar, and we get star-turning performances from Cheadle and Ferrer. Of course, the original press singled out Del Toro as the best performance in the film, and they were right. The sequences with Javier are by and far the best in the film, and really kept me going. Zeta-Jones is a throw-away, her presence doesn’t add anything to the film, other than to make Douglas happy in real-life, I suppose. Erika Christiansen does a really nice turn as Wakefield’s drug addicted daughter, and she has a bright future ahead of her. The most surprising acting comes from Topher Grace, you know, Eric from "That 70’s Show" as Christiansen’s druggie boyfriend.

This film made a ton of money ($123 million), and was critically acclaimed. In looking at the Oscars that the piece won, I can say that it really did deserve to win Best Director, Best Editor and Best Supporting Actor, but I disagree with the nod for Best Adapted Screenplay. Any of the other four films nominated (Chocolat, O’Brother Where Art Thou, Wonder Boys and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) had a better script.

Still, it’s a great film. Definitely recommended, and as one of my friends said, "It should be required viewing for all politicians who think the Drug War is winnable. It isn’t."

My rating: ****1/2 out of 5.