SCARCELY can one movie have cast a light so brightly on the darker areas of organised crime.Of course The Godfather showed, in nostalgic awe, the rise of an older generation of gangster. But Steven Soderbergh's latest film dissects and coolly explains the nature of the modern drug industry from manufacturer to supplier to consumer.

It has a forensic quality that gives it instant credibility, and in the course of the story several concerned politicians and drug enforcement officials appear, sharing their views with America's new drug 'tsar', Judge Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas).

He is an idealist at heart, but a man prepared to get his hands dirty in the war on drugs. And unlike others of his age - his wife included - he does not regard youthful drug experimentation as a legitimate rite of passage.

All Robert's complacent notions about drug use and abuse are thrown into sharp relief as he sees for himself different aspects of the drugs trade, and learns with horror of his own teenage daughter's growing dependency.

Soderbergh's camera moves between this rarefied upper middle class world and the bustling streets of Tijuana in Mexico, where honest cop Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro) feels trapped between warring drugs cartels, and lacks the support of superiors who are either not interested or on the take.

The brutal tactics of the military task force led by the charismatic General Salazar leave him cold, but still he wants to do some good in this never-ending battle of wits with wealthy drug producers. Just across the border key suppliers have grown wealthy too, but two cops (Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman) at the sharp end think they have enough to pursue one importer, Carlos Ayala, through the courts.

Arresting him in front of his kids and his pregnant wife Helena (Catherine Zeta-Jones) they take precautions to protect the life of their star witness, knowing that his enemies want him dead.

And so it goes on, every link in the chain being depicted through the unblinking eye of Soderbergh's camera in dramatic sequences that never lose their grip on reality or rely on overblown theatrics.

Screenwriter Stephen Gaghan is to be congratulated for his delightfully articulate and well-researched script, though it's inspiration is entirely British, based as it is on the Channel 4 series Traffik.

The skill of a filmmaker like Soderbergh comes in putting a fresh perspective on a story that has been told, at least in part, before. He has made a long film, but one that features several compelling, eye-opening moments, cast with a rich array of acting talent.

Mr & Mrs Douglas will grab a lot of the attention of course, with Michael being as good as we know he can be, and Catherine delivering a finely-judged dramatic performance that may come as a pleasant surprise.

For others the surprise will be that a film, a mere movie, can achieve a documentary-like quality without losing audience interest or sacrificing the story at its heart. Traffic may, in the normal course of events, be something you want to avoid, but to miss this film would be a mistake.