Being unfamiliar with director Guy Ritchie and his critically acclaimed “Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels”, it took me a while to enter his cut-throat world. Visually you are swept away with a lot of camera tricks and music montages that elevated different action films of the 1970s. Thus depicts the world of Guy Ritchie.

Snatch’s story isn’t exactly straight forward or can be summed up in a couple paragraphs but I will try. The center story revolves around a group of low caliber gangsters who eventually become involved with the pursuit of a 32 karat diamond. Coupled with that story thread you have a story about a mumble-talking Gypsy (Brad Pitt) who is talked into boxing for a couple thugs after he breaks the jaw of their best boxer. Then there is a renegade gangster boss (Alan Ford) who is obsessed with feeding dead people to a bunch of pigs, a New York big-shot (Dennis Farina) who is trying to find his courier (Benicio Del Toro) who is bringing him the diamonds, three bumbling pawnbrokers and a hitman with bullets for teeth (Vinnie Jones). These are just about half of the interesting characters assembled in this film.

When I first started the film, it took me a good 20-30 minutes to get encased in the style of Snatch. Snatch is brilliant as it assembles such a motley cast. I haven’t seen this many nasty characters involved in one story since “The Usual Suspects”. Each of these guys you believe may have a stake in London’s underground. The film has an amazing look and tone. Hollywood pretty boys Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro blend seamlessly into the “cronies world” and never look back. Each of the quirky gangsters have their moment in the sun and it is very delicious on how each one is solidified from that moment. I really loved that aspect. All of these actors in this ensemble give amazing performances. Even though there are brutal and grizzly moments coupled with humor its amazing how the audience never really squirms. (Kind of like cartoon violence)

It’s hard to describe blatantly brutal violence cupped with wicked humor. The best way I can describe it is when I compare it to the comicbook writings of one Garth Ennis. Ennis’ recent works on the comicbooks “The Punisher” and “Preacher” are exactly the kind of tone Ritchie is digging for in this film. (Here is a thought why not hire Ritchie to do the new “Punisher” movie kicking around at Artisan.)

I also really enjoyed the boxing matches in this film. Unlike previous films we have realistic blood. I have never seen boxing scenes like these before and they were quite a treat.

My only real problem with this film was the initial shock that carried me in. I found that the hardest to take but after I found the groove it was a shock filled wonder ride. Other problems included the dialogue and thick accents which left me scratching my head in some places. But just as the accents became very thick you were greeted with a hilarious but often ghastly scene and some of those graphic scenes bugged me. (Remember these men are quite vile)

This film is British and proud of it. It is kind of interesting what that statement brings to this original and interesting entry in gangster cinema lore.

(3.5 of 5) So Says The Soothsayer.

Turkish is an unlicensed boxing promoter in London, England and he gets in to big trouble when he messes with local gangster Brick Top, who wants him to arrange a fight and fix it. Meanwhile, in Antwerp, a diamond heist goes down and an 84 karat diamond is stolen. Avi, an American, is supposed to receive the cash from the sale of the diamond, but Franky "Four Fingers" never shows up to make the exchange. This inspires Avi to go to England and apply his own brand of mob justice. As the film progresses the stories intertwine until all the characters are in the same plot.

Plot: At first glance Snatch looks like a wannabe Quentin Tarentino heist film, but once you get used to the English accents you'll discover that there is so much more. This film was written and directed by the same man who made Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Guy Ritchie...Oh and he's married to Madonna. The movie starts with three seemingly independent storylines; Turkish with his illegal boxing business, Frank "Four Fingers" and his perfect heist, and Sol & Vinnie, two pawn shop owners who have been given a seemingly easy crime job from Russian Boris the Blade. The stories meld themselves into one much more naturally than Tarentino copycat's stories do. This film is truly a pleasure to watch and experience. The story draws the audience in from beginning to end. *****(out of five)

Acting: A classic example of an ensemble film gone incredibly right, Snatch does everything its supposed to and more. Although the praises of the actors in this movie would eat up too much physical space on this page, I'll still comment on some of the cast members. Brad Pitt continues to flex his acting muscle as the not-as-unintelligible-as-you-may-think One Punch Mickey O'Neill, a "Pikey" bareknuckled boxer Turkish uses as a replacement for his own Gorgeous George who was hospitalized by Mickey. Pitt's performance is simply fantastic, as good as his portrayal of Tyler Durden in another fighting film, Fight Club. Vinnie Jones, British soccer star turned actor, played hitman Bullet Tooth Tony...this man is simply tough as nails and no other actor on the planet can play the role the way Vinnie Jones did. Other notable performances included actor Alan Ford as the delightfully evil old man gangster Brick Top, American Dennis Farina as angry New Yorker Cousin Avi, and last,but not least, Jason Statham as Turkish. *****(out of five)

Directing: Guy Ritchie shoots his films with such an attuned sense of gritty realism. Every frame of film in this movie contains detail upon detail, dirt upon dirt, not a single thing was left unconsidered. But, Ritchie also has a great sense of humor, the comic timing in this film is dead on. Plus, Ritchie moves action in ways its never been moved before. For example in the opening robbery and title sequence he actually takes the actually frame and moves that around to further enhance the scenario. I can't wait to his next picture comes across the pond. *****(out of five)

Music: Snatch's music is the perfect balance of original score and popular music. Often juxtaposing the music's tone to the scene's tone, composer John Murphy creates an environment where criminals are the good guys and everyone else doesn't exist expertly, Tarentino must be envious. *****(out of five)

Special Effects: As is common with films of this type, Snatch has no effects work worth evaluating. No points lost or gained. N/A(out of five)

Bottom Line: Until Quentin Tarentino crawls out of whatever hole he's been living in for the past four years and makes another film I'm very happy to say that I'll settle for Guy Ritchie. Be forewarned, the accents in this film are sometimes quite thick and you'll ending up spending a little bit of time concentrating on every word that is said. ****1/2(out of five)