Robert Wakefield: Michael Douglas	Montel: Don Cheadle
Javier: Benicio Del Toro	Ray: Luis Guzman
Arnie: Dennis Quaid	Helena Ayala: Catherine Zeta-Jones
Carlos Ayala: Steven Bauer	Manolo: Jacob Vargas
Caroline Wakefield: Erika Christensen	Seth: Topher Grace
Juan: Benjamin Bratt	Chief of Staff: Albert Finney
General Salazar: Tomas Milian	Ana: Marisol Sanchez
Madrigal's Mistress: Salma Hayek	Eddie: Miguel Ferrer
Barbara Wakefield: Amy Irving	Director: Steven Soderbergh

30 Second Bottom Line: Traffic refers to the distribution of drugs in the Americas. The film is circular in its approach, loosely linking several stories. The Mexican connection deals with the police and the drug cartels there. In the US the actions of the government to stop the flow of drugs is critically examined. And most elusive, the drug dealers who live a life of prestige in estate homes next door to legitimate corporate executives. Last and sadly, we get a harsh and realistic look at the users, some of whom are the children of those corporate execs.

Javier (Benicio Del Toro) and Manolo (Jacob Vargas) are Tiajuana, Mexico police officers who make a drug bust only to have it taken over by Mexican General Salazar (Tomas Milian). The General has a mission to bust one of the two major drug cartels he tells them. His primary target is located in Tijuana, just south of San Diego. Javier only makes $315 per month, but adds to it with tourist scams, such as stealing their cars, which are then redeemed from local thugs, who function as middlemen and are paid off by the cops. As Javier and Manolo are courted by General Salazar (whose motives are deeper than they appear on the surface) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in the US, they see opportunities to achieve personal goals that they want. For Javier, he tells the DEA agents that it's all about baseball. He wants lights on the field so the kids can play at night. Javier is a very cautious man who fears the meeting with the agents will be taped, so he has the discussion literally in a swimming pool. Clearly he has honed his survival skills. His partner Manolo learns a secret about the two Mexican cartels that he is thinking about selling to the DEA. His wife Ana (Marisol Sanchez) urges Javier to intervene and tell Manolo the facts of life, as she fears he is getting in over his head and will be killed.

San Diego DEA agents Montel (Don Cheadle) and Ray (Luis Guzman) bust mid level drug dealer Eddie (Miguel Ferrer) in a sting. Montel is shot in the ensuing gun battle. After he recovers, his focus shifts from revenge on Eddie to getting him to give up a top- level drug dealer, Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer) and to go into the witness protection program. When Ayala is arrested, his lawyer Arnie (Dennis Quaid) comes to his aid. While making a spirited defense of Carlos, you wonder if he has a hidden agenda.

Carlos's wife Helena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who is very pregnant (she has to be because Zeta-Jones was while the film was being made), changes from a country club wife to a drug dealer so she can maintain the life style to which she has become accustomed. Her day trip to Tijuana to meet with drug dealer Juan Obregon (Benjamin Bratt) shows us that she knows how to strike a deal. She also wants her husband back and will do whatever it takes to ensure that the witness, Eddie, never makes it to testify at his trial.

Further up the food chain of law enforcement is the US drug czar, Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), who lives in the posh Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hills with his wife Barbara (Amy Irving) and daughter Caroline (Erika Christensen). Caroline goes to an exclusive and very expense private school where she is a straight A student. She participates in lots of activities and is a volunteer worker who reads to the blind. Barbara has known for six months that Caroline has been using drugs but has neither confronted her with it nor shared that information with Robert.

Teenage drinking and casual drug use become destructive when Caroline's boyfriend Seth (Topher Grace) introduces her to crack cocaine. By the time her father (the Drug Czar) discovers her addiction, she is beyond the help of her family, friends and twelve step programs; at least for a while. Erika Christensen gives a powerful acting performance as she makes the transition from partying with her wealthy friends in a million-dollar house to living in the ghetto.

Tell Me More About It: Art house films may get a huge lift by audiences willing to see movies with subtitles because of Traffic and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (CTHD). Nearly the entire portion filmed in Mexico is subtitled, and I can't believe anyone who sees this film would want it any other way. CTHD is 100% subtitles.

One technique that makes this complex story easy to follow is how the different stories are separated. Soderbergh, who also functions as the cinematographer (under the name Peter Andrews), uses a different color tint to clue you on what portion of the story you have shifted to, even before you see anyone or hear a voice. Mexico has an almost sepia tone and grainy texture that fits the dusty areas; blue filters through for Washington, D.C. and the wealthy Cincinnati suburb, home of the Wakefields; a golden hue is used for the everyday life of the DEA agents and the California seaside life of the Ayala's.

Other than short speeches by Douglas and Grace toward the end of the film, the conclusions you draw about the direction of the war on drugs is for you to decide. Wakefield, as the newly appointed drug czar, gives a "say all the right things speech" from the White House podium in a less than convincing manner. He is urged on by the White House Chief of Staff (Albert Finney) to be the political animal that tells people what they want to hear. When Wakefield later falters in his acceptance speech, the two seconds it takes for the shift of Finney's eyes is better acting than all the good work he did in Erin Brokovich.

Zeta-Jones as the clueless country club wife becomes a hardened drug dealer and killer overnight simply because she knows how to take care of herself and wants to maintain her lifestyle. We know that she was born poor and is now rich. And true to the old adage…rich is better. Her drug dealer husband could get a lifetime jail sentence, leaving her no means of support.

In spite of these and other flaws, there is so much in the film that is outstanding, that it still deserves a **** star rating. All of the supporting characters add substance to the film by showing the "games people play" to advance their own agenda. Seeing the dots connect on things you know or suspect is an eye opener.

Unlike Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock, Catherine Zeta-Jones is willing to take risks with her portrayals by working in off beat films such as this one and in High Fidelity. She proves that one can be glamorous and humorous, as she was in Entrapment, yet do more serious roles to include those on the art house circuit.

Even with my criticisms, there is much to think about regarding the treatment of drugs in America. While men are trying to figure out What Women Want, the government knows what people want. Think about cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. Add to these gambling. The government effectively controls cigarettes, alcohol and gambling and makes a lot of money in the process with tax revenue. With alcohol we had to go through prohibition before we made it legal to give the public the spirits they desired.

Michael Douglas: Wonder Boys	Don Cheadle: Family Man
Benicio Del Toro: Snatch	Ray Castro: The Bone Collector
Dennis Quaid: Frequency	Catherine Zeta-Jones: High Fidelity
Steven Bauer: Rave	Jacob Vargas: Next Friday
Erika Christensen: Leave it to Beaver-TV	Topher Grace: That 70's Show-TV
Benjamin Bratt: Miss Congeniality	Albert Finney: Erin Brokovich
Tomas Mimlian: The Yards	Marisol Sanchez: Fever
Salma Hayek: Timecode	Miguel Ferrer: Mulan
Amy Irving: Bossa Nova	Steven Soderbergh: Erin Brokovich