American Gangster (film) - Plot

Plot

In 1968, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), the limo driver-turned-right-hand man of Harlem gangster Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (Clarence Williams III), inherits his gang once Johnson dies of a heart attack. Frank decides to take control of Harlem's crime scene as he dislikes the new, flashy gangsters of the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Newark detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is hated in his precinct for being honest. After his exiled and addicted partner (John Ortiz) dies from overdosing on a relatively low-priced but unusually potent brand of heroin called "Blue Magic", Captain Lou Toback (Ted Levine) puts Roberts in charge of a task force targeting major drug trafficking in Essex County, New Jersey. The investigation will focus the actual supplier rather than the middle-men.

Blue Magic is being supplied by Lucas, who has decided to buy his drugs directly from producers in Thailand, which is then smuggled by U.S. servicemen returning from the Vietnam War. This allows Lucas to provide a higher quality product at a cheaper price than his rivals, eventually wholesaling drugs to most of the dealers in the New York area. With Blue Magic's monopoly, Lucas quickly makes a fortune, buying several nightclubs and a large estate in New Jersey for his humble mother (Ruby Dee). Lucas' five brothers are enlisted as his lieutenants in the drug trade. During his rise to becoming the biggest gang leader and drug dealer in Harlem, Lucas meets and falls in love with Eva (Lymari Nadal), a Puerto Rican beauty queen.

As Lucas' business prospers, he makes a point of operating quietly and dressing with a modest conservatism both as a sign of strength and to avoid attracting the attention of the police. However, Lucas disregards this habit while attending the Fight of the Century with Eva, sporting a gaudy chinchilla fur coat and hat; Roberts attends the fight notices the previously-unknown Lucas and decides to investigate. Meanwhile, Lucas is forced to contend with Lucchese mafia boss Dominic Cattano (Armand Assante) and corrupt NYPD detectives such as Nick Trupo (Josh Brolin), who attempt to extort and threaten him. Lucas must also compete with local crime figure Nicky Barnes (Cuba Gooding, Jr.). Things take a turn for the worse when the Fall of Saigon cuts off Lucas' supply.

Roberts' detectives witness Frank's cousin (Malcolm Goodwin) shooting a woman, and then use his driver’s predicament to get him to wear a wire. This allows Roberts and his task force to search one of the last planes carrying Lucas' stock, eventually finding Blue Magic on the coffins of returning war dead; this evidence allows them to obtain a warrant to follow drugs into Newark's projects. Meanwhile, Trupo and his men break into Lucas' mansion, kill his dog, and steal his emergency cash supply. Lucas initially sets out to kill Trupo, but his mother manages to dissuade him. Lucas is arrested when Roberts' team conducts a search of the Newark projects.

In the police station, Roberts gives Lucas a chance at a shorter jail sentence if he aids his investigation. With no other options, Lucas provides names of dirty cops in the NYPD. In the end, three quarters of the New York DEA are arrested and convicted, and a distraught Trupo shoots himself to avoid arrest. Roberts, having passed the bar exam, prosecutes Lucas, who once condemned provides evidence that leads to more than one-hundred further drug-related convictions.