It's amazing that Paul WS Anderson, out of all those big budget Hollywood sci-fi action junk, his best film could be this much smaller scale, rather fascinating tale of London suffering from youth crime gone amok, with Brit street punks, aimless and violence-prone, many either hooked on, or selling, drugs, destroying cop cars(and the police themselves), driving stolen vehicles through store windows, pelting the police with whatever they can get their hands on. It's absolute anarchy, and we see that the 90's punk culture has served not the most model citizens of society, as they seem to have no career goals, no future, living a life of crime either for kicks or underground business. Billy(Jude Law)has just been released from yet another stint in prison, rejoining his gal pal, Jo(Sadie Frost), as they steal cars and cause general mischief. Billy's "nemesis" is Tommy(Sean Pertwee), someone who has made a little street "enterprize" for himself using footsoldiers to rob stores for merchandise to sell on his "black market". Tommy doesn't like Billy's gung-ho, "adrenaline junkie" ways and warns Jo she should abandon him before he leads her into trouble. Billy likes to live recklessly, on the wild side, and has gained quite a reputation for doing so, a sort of hero to the punks on the streets. Tommy, however, considers himself quite a businessman, peddling his goods at much cheaper prices for those with the money to pay him(his customers normally wish to pay less than he demands, but they know his goods is of a legitimate quality), and sees Billy as a threat to everything he holds dear. There's an inevitable confrontation, but Billy underestimates his rival, with severe consequences. A mall is both men's desired target, and there's an ace up Tommy's sleeve which might just cost Billy dearly. Jo is in love with Billy and has went out of her way to reveal this to him, pleading with him to leave London and run away with her..but, Billy is a stubborn young man who has a problem with Tommy's "takeover" of "his city". I think Anderson effectively shows a London in ruin, with tired, exhausted police(under the command of Jonathan Pryce's saddened, weary Conway)unable to control the youth revolt. We see streets as if war had broken out, with filth and poverty very alive, along with graffiti walls, damaged cars, and trash in abundance. The overwhelming populace of self-destructive, unruly, and unyielding young criminals, with seemingly nothing else to live for but raising hell, are presented in a surprisingly non judgmental way, although, I never felt Anderson was condoning their behavior..I think he was merely showing us a lifestyle outside the norm, following a lost generation fallen under the cracks(..and, we can see that there were a lot of them, too). We can see that Billy's need for kicks and thrills are bound to lead down a path of destruction, and the ultimate crime is that he'll take Jo with him since she's just too in love to get away while the going was good.