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Meanwhile Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), a disgraced ex-officer with anger-management problems, has made his way into Costello’s inner circle. But, he is actually still working for the force undercover, at the arrangement of Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and his high-wired partner (Mark Wahlberg).

Both sides suspect there's a mole in the ranks, so both men try to weed each other out. They burrow into their respective organizations on similar tracks that eventually meet when each is ordered to flush out the other (Damon and DiCaprio do not even appear together until the final climactic sequences). As both men become ingrained in their double lives and the police unit begins to narrow in on Costello, each mole sets out to deduce the identity of the other - not knowing they're both in a romantic relationship with the same woman, a police psychiatrist (Vera Farmiga).

The Departed has reliably award-worthy performances throughout, from Alec Baldwin's pot-bellied special agent to Wahlberg and Sheen's good cop/bad cop routine. But dominant are DiCaprio's performance - corrupted and rotting from within - and the devilish grin of the incomparable Nicholson, who doesn't waste a second of screen time playing Costello.

Clocking in at a whopping two and a half hours, The Departed is 50 minutes longer than Infernal Affairs, but still, it's a wonderful set-up for a high-wire drama, knee-deep in psychological overtones. It's a great foundation for this version, as this film is not just another crime thriller; it's electrifying entertainment dense with violence and suspense. - S.W.