Elite Squad takes place in the late 1990s in Rio just a few months prior to a visit from the Pope. His Holiness decided that he wants to stay in an area close to a notorious ghetto. Rio's elite police force, the BOPE, must rid the area of a notorious drug dealer before the visit.

Nascimento wants to leave the force because he's got a child on the way but before he can leave but he must find a suitable replacement. Neto and Matias are the top candidates but they (and Nascimento) must evaluate their moral compasses. Most of the force is corrupt and they soon realize that doing the right thing and staying alive can be mutually exclusive.

It's an intense movie that takes its morality serious and it's crime investigation even more so. If you're one of the liberals who, like Sarah Vowell, cheer when Jack Bauer tortures bad guys to get necessary information to catch even worse guys, this is your movie.