Tibet (Volkan Özcan) and Chiko (Moschitto) are childhood friends, with Chiko declaring Tibet’s mother as dearer to him than his own. Both are weed dealers in their Hamburg neighbourhood but dream of bigger things, something that comes within reach after one of Chiko’s rash but not entirely stupid actions puts them in contact with the local drug lord Brownie (Bleibtreu).

Chiko is the more ambitious and clever of the two and his eye for calculated risk quickly makes him one of Brownie’s rising stars. Tibet, who struggles with an ill mother at home, is not quite as lucky and one of his not so calculated actions sets up the second part of the story in which the ascent of one will only be possible at the expense of the other.

Yildirim’s script is strongest when he establishes his characters and their alliances before letting genre conventions do their work. Such details as Chiko’s relationship with his young daughter and the boys’ relationship with Tibet’s mother often recall the 2005 culture-clash and parenthood comedy Kebab Connection that also starred Moschitto and which was co-written by Fatih Akin, who is one of the producers here. Both films share a clear interest in the humanity of their characters as well as genre conventions and find a satisfying way of marrying both (even if Chiko’s last ten minutes strain credibility though they make sense genre-wise).

The director blends the typical genre items of ascending drugs kingpins -- the big wads of cash, the thumping music, big cars and available women that recently graced screens in dealer tales such as We Own the Night and American Gangster -- with more subtle Muslim and Christian imagery. Chiko’s real name is Isa, Arabic for Jesus, but it is Tibet’s punishment at Brownie’s hands that most explicitly recalls the suffering of Christ. The age-old penis/weapon association is also given an amusing twist in an important scene set in the restroom of a restaurant where Brownie holds court.

Though the performance of Moschitto towers over the others -- he plays the title character after all -- Yildirim gives all the actors the space they need to create their characters, with Bleibtreu going dutifully over-the-top as the drugs baron and family man and Özcan going for a less showy but not less effective performance. The only character that Yildirim has problems handling is Chiko and Tibet’s mutual friend Curly (Fahri Ogün Yardim), who is more of a plot convenience than anything else and quietly disappears out of sight when he is no longer needed.

Behind the camera, Yildirim has also assembled a young and able team that includes production designer Iris Trescher, cinematographer Matthias Bollinger and editor Sebastian Thümler.  

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