As every Asian action devotee will tell you, Infernal Affairs 2 is not a sequel but a prequel to Hong Kong directors Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak's Infernal Affairs (2002), which served as the inspiration for Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed. Pop star Edison Chan and Shawn Yue, respectively, play younger versions of the two leads as they begin their careers as a Triad member feeding police information to mobster Hon Sam (Eric Tsang, reprising his role from the first film) and a mole infiltrating Sam's organization. A side plot involves the son (Francis Ng) of a murdered Triad leader who causes trouble for all three characters. As with the original film, the violence and bulletplay is both operatic and frantic, and the truths, half-truths, and false identities labyrinthine in their complexities.