Traffic

Described by director Steven Soderbergh as " Nashville meets The French Connection ," this multi-character drama explores the effects of international drug trafficking on all fronts: from their source, to the U.S. border, to the federal government, to the private lives of users. Based upon a miniseries originally aired on Britain's Channel 4, Traffic divides its time among three main storylines and almost a dozen locales. The first and primary plot thread, set in Ohio and Washington, D.C., concerns freshly-appointed drug czar Robert Wakefield ( Michael Douglas ), whose enthusiasm for his new prestige position is quickly offset when he realizes his 16-year-old daughter Caroline ( Erika Christensen ) is graduating from recreational drug use to habitual abuse — a secret that his wife, Barbara ( Amy Irving ), has kept from him. South of the border, Mexican cop Javier Rodriguez ( Benicio Del Toro ) attempts to wage his own war on drugs, heading off a cocaine shipment in the middle of the desert with his less-than-virtuous partner Manolo Sanchez ( Jacob Vargas ). Surrounded by corruption, Javier approaches the drug war with an attitude of patience and compromise, which opens him up to investigation from General Arturo Salazar ( Tomas Milian ), the country's dubious drug-enforcement liaison to the U.S. Meanwhile, San Diego drug kingpin Carlos Alaya ( Steven Bauer ) is caught in a sting operation spearheaded by DEA agents Montel Gordon ( Don Cheadle ) and Ray Castro ( Luis Guzman ), leaving behind his very pregnant and very oblivious wife, Helena ( Catharine Zeta-Jones ). At the behest of Carlos' lawyer and shady confidante, Arnie Metzger ( Dennis Quaid ), Helena decides to carry on the family business — with tragic consequences. Adapted by Rules of Engagement scribe Stephen Gaghan , Traffic marked Soderbergh's second major release in 2000 after the critical and box-office success of Erin Brockovich , as well as his second feature as cinematographer (credited under the pseudonym Peter Andrews). A favorite with various guild and critics' awards, Traffic won four Academy Awards in 2001, including statues for Best Supporting Actor ( Del Toro ) and Best Adapted Screenplay ( Gaghan ), and surprise wins for Steven Mirrone 's editing and Soderbergh 's direction. — Michael Hastings