Martin Scorsese has directed everything from dark comedy (King of Comedy) to period pieces (The Aviator, Age of Innocence, Gangs of New York) to the religiously controversial (Last Temptation of Christ and Kundun). But the director’s hallmark has always been his gritty crime dramas. From Mean Streets to Taxi Driver to Goodfellas and Casino, Scorsese has definitely placed his distinctive stamp on the genre. It's hard to believe he's never won an Academy Award!

With The Departed Scorsese is back in familiar territory and it feels good to be home. Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) is an Irish crime boss on Boston’s South Side. He’s been a father figure to new Massachusetts State Police Officer Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon, since the officer was a boy. Another rookie officer is Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio). Because of some dubious family connections, he’s tapped by Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) to go under deep cover to infiltrate Costello’s crime ring. Meanwhile, Sullivan is made a plain clothes officer. He’s also Costello’s inside man. While Sullivan is trying to find out who’s undercover in Costello’s operation, Costigan becomes convinced that Costello has a mole in the state police department. Both men try to flush the other out.

With its violence, expletive-filled rants and themes of loyalty and betrayal, The Departed is a very good film. It has a pace and a rhythm that keep you involved – even as it clocks in at two and a half hours long.

Even the supporting cast is solid. From Alec Baldwin to Anthony Anderson, the cast is top-rate. Jack Nicholson is such a personality that he often appears to be playing himself in many of his performances. Here there are shades of the ‘charming Lakers fan’ Jack Nicholson but there is so much more. He’s at turns menacing, paternal and coldly calculating. In a word, he’s damn good (okay, that was two words). Vera Farmiga plays the police psychologist who ends up involved with both Sullivan and Costigan, Her performance is also noteworthy.

One of the things I love about Scorsese’s films is his use of music. His selections here (The Stone’s Gimme Shelter and Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb, among others) added depth to several critical scenes.

Having not seen the original film, Infernal Affairs, which The Departed was based on, I was not prepared for the jarring events that took place at the end. Judging by the reactions of the opening night crowd, they weren’t familiar with the original Hong Kong film either.

If you like your cops dirty and your violence bloody, you’ll certainly like The Departed.