2000, 2 hrs 30 min., Rated R for pervasive drug content, strong language, violence and some sexuality.�Dir: Steven Soderbergh. Cast: Michael Douglas (Robert Wakefield), Don Cheadle (Montel Gordon), Benicio Del Toro (Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez), Luis Guzm�n (Ray Castro), Dennis Quaid (Arnie Metzger), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Helena Ayala), Steven Bauer (Carlos Ayala), Jacob Vargas (Manolo Sanchez), Erika Christensen (Caroline Wakefield), Clifton Collins Jr. (Francisco Flores), Miguel Ferrer (Eduardo Ruiz), Topher Grace (Seth Abrahams), Amy Irving (Barbara Wakefield).

Steven Soderbergh, in his might-as-well-be-true tale of the futility of the drug war, masterfully weaves together four stories that pack a wallop of a punch.

There's no wonder that Traffic has been getting some highly favorable reviews, despite its length and the stories' complex and multi-layered structure. It won't be my favorite of the year - anything this heavy is hard to be seen over and over again - but no doubt so well-done that I have to put it among my top ten releases of 2000.

First off, it's a smart film. You feel better informed and more in tune with the problem than before. This isn't a touch-and-go drug picture, like a rah rah Hollywood production as Clear and Present Danger or a hidden glorification and coolness of drugs like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

The acting is unbelievably top-notch on all fronts, with a few pleasant surprises.

Not from Michael Douglas, though, who is reliable to give a hard-nose effort. As the new United Sates drug czar, he finds himself fighting the war at home and at the border simultaneously. He and wife (played by Amy Irving) have no clue how to handle her daughter (Erika Christensen, who looks like Julia Stiles younger sister), a rich bratty snot who has nothing better to do with her time than freebase with friends. I had no sympathy for her character, but that doesn't mean Erika didn't play the part well.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is one of the surprises, as the pregnant socialite unaware of her husband's extracurricular business activities. Zeta-Jones has usually been no more than a pretty set-piece in previous films, so she finally proves to me that she has some acting talent in Traffic.

Not a surprise, but glad he has a decent role for once to prove his skills, is Don Cheadle as an undercover DEA agent assigned to protect a key witness. He and his Hispanic partner Luis Guzman (Ray), make a funny odd couple.

Another surprise is someone I had not noticed before, Benecio Del Toro. Playing Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (guess his family ran out of names), a state policeman out of Tijuana with questionable motives, Del Toro gives the audience the biggest range.

Small parts abound, a couple of cameos, by Salma Hayek and Benjamin Bratt, but Topher Grace of Fox TV's "That 70s Show" stood out as the brightest, playing Michael Douglas' daughter's intelligent yet immoral boyfriend�.

Traffic's cinematography is easily visible: all scenes in Mexico are washed out in yellow tones, and those involving Douglas' family have a bluish tint. Soderbergh also shoots the film like a hand-held camera, so those who got sick watching Blair Witch might be a little woozy. It's slightly noticeable at first, giving a look of "Cops" but one quickly adjusts, just as you do when having to read the subtitles while characters speak Spanish south of the border.

I would think that the Mexican government would be a little upset at the this film, seeing as how it's portrayed as a one-sided war, with the U.S. much more honorable and the Mexicans incredibly corrupt. The drug war seems useless, but there are people working very hard to do whatever they can to keep the substances out of the country, but it really is almost a futile attempt. Maybe the new government and president, Vicente Fox, sees it as a place to begin, from the bottom-up.