The Departed

Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" topped the box office in the United States this weekend, raking in an estimated 27 million dollars. The movie, a film about undercover men that features Scorsese's trademark blood-letting and violence is the director's biggest weekend opener ever since "Cape Fear," which started with $10.2 million in 1991. His most recent film, 2004's "The Aviator," was the highest-grossing of his career, earning $102 million after starting with $8.6 million during its first weekend of wide release. His last contemporary crime saga, "Casino," opened with $9.9 million in 1995 and finished with $42.5 million.

"The Departed" is expected to continue its success further on the shoulder of a great combination of star-power: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. In this gritty crime drama from Scorsese, Jack Nicholson plays a Boston crime boss whose organization is infiltrated by a mole (DiCaprio) even as he plants a rat (Damon) inside the Boston Police Department, which inevitably results in carnage and the characters are plunged into a dangerous game of cat and mouse in which the stakes could not be higher.

The story of "The Departed" is based on the 2002 crime thriller out of Hong Kong called "Infernal Affairs," which achieved great success in Asia before coming to U.S. shores in 2004. An American version was soon in the works, with William Monahan writing the screenplay.

Here is the official site of the movie: thedeparted.com. The movie is rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material.