I think Johnnie To is perhaps Hong Kong's best director of action and gangster films since John Woo. His films receive all kinds of awards and regularly screen at festivals such as Cannes, Toronto and Berlin. Though they may tread similar territory, there are distinct differences between the two directors: Woo forged a stylistic trademark out of his bullet-ballet action choreography and loner heroes, whereas To's films tend towards a moderate realism and ensemble casts. Election, a film about the bi-annual election of the real-life Wo Shing Triad's chairman, falls squarely within this paradigm.

The film opens with Wo Shing's uncles debating the merits of two candidates – Lok, the level-headed business man, and Big D, a violent hothead who is paying off the uncles to secure votes. When one of the uncles realises Big D has paid him less than the others he decides to vote for Lok, who wins, but can't actually take control of the Triad until the Dragon Head Baton has been passed to him by the outgoing chairman. Big D knows this, and sends his goons off to intercept the Baton: if he can take it by force, then he'll effectively be head of Wo Shing. Needless to say, war breaks out and blood flows.

On the surface, Election could have been just another Hong Kong gangster flick, but there's several elements that elevate it way above the rest. Firstly, there's the delving into the rituals and ceremonies of such a long-lasting crime organisation. Organised crime in Asia is such a vastly different beast to its American or European counterparts, mainly due to the proximity of a little country called China, which means it's problematic drawing any substantial parrallels to films like Goodfellas. It's a very enclosed world and the rituals, with their sense of a more formalised brotherhood, help to reinforce this.

Then there's the naturalism maintained throughout the film. For example, all of these guys seem to be wearing cheap clothing and very little money is flashed about, yet we know they must be loaded. No guns are used, since they can be so eaasily traced, meaning knives and beatings are the order of the day. There's the tricky business of following the ever-shifting loyalties, as uncles align and re-align their gangs within the Triad. Even the police have a realistic perspective and are only interested in maintaining a status quo, not in stamping out organised crime altogether (note the way the police captain gives the uncles the time and opportunity to straighten things out themselves before the police are forced to intervene). There's other specific examples, such as the up-and-coming Jimmy who attends economics lectures to understand the ins and outs of business, but suffice to say it all locates the film in a gritty reality that's hard to deny.

There's plenty of stand-out scenes on offer. In a perfect example of shifting loyalties, there's a scene with one gangster beating another (who has the Baton) with a tree branch. Both men receive phone calls from their respective uncles to say they've come to an agreement and the later needs to hand the Baton over to the former. The irony of the situation is not lost on either man; both were willing to kill each other seconds ago, but have suddenly become allies. There's also a chaotic night time street fight and a crushing end for one of our major players.

As usual with Johnnie To, there's nothing extraneous in Election and the film zips along at a good pace without losing sight of its themes. In this case, it points out the disparity between the ideals of brotherhood, tradition and ritual and the realities of the gangster lifestyle ? the ambition and greed that fuel so much of the violence. There's a sense that the uncles, even Lok on occassion, actually view themselves as good guys, or at least simple business men, and men like Big D are the bad guys. But the reality is that none of them are good guys. If there's any kind of scale, it's bad guys and badder guys. It's an idea that's further developed in the sequel, Election 2, in which Lok tries to break tradition by running for a second term and comes up against a rival who'll do anything to win and turn Wo Shing into a legitimate enteprise. I'd strongly recommend watching both films back to back. In some ways, Election 2 is the better of the two films, but the obvious parrallel to The Godfather Part II – the protagonist's desire to go legit and his inability to do so – keeps it from being the better film for me.

Hong Kong is best known for its kinetic, stylised action movies. Election represents a less formulaic, dare I say more mature approach to the genre in which plotting and scheming take precedence over hitting all the right action beats and shoehorning that one final fight scene in. Johnnie To cleverly sidesteps around those clichés while still delivering a quintessential gangster flick.