In this very loose remake of 1942's Alan Ladd/Veronica Lake film The Glass Key, Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) is the sidekick/partner of Leo O'Bannon (Albert Finney), an Irish mobster who runs the city. Tom and Leo have lots of problems. Caspar (Jon Polito), an Italian mobster, wants a piece of the action, including permission to kill Bernie (John Turturro), a crooked bookie who has screwed him over. The Dane (J.E. Freeman), Caspar's not so silent partner, thinks they should just kill Bernie without asking permission. Bernie is protected, however, because his sister, Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), is Leo's girl. Leo doesn't know that Tom and Verna are having an affair.

Things are complicated, and Leo's not much of a thinker. He usually relies on Tom for advice, but their relationship is marred because they both love the same woman. Leo has Verna followed without Tom's knowing it, but the snoop, nicknamed Rug because of his bad toupee, is murdered, and his wig is stolen. "Maybe it was Injuns," Tom offers. Leo isn't too smart: he thinks Caspar did it, so he has his pocket policemen raid Caspar's clubs. This happens just in time, because Caspar has Tom captive. He wants Tom to work for him in exchange for the payment of a large gambling debt. When Tom says no, Caspar's goons are in the middle of beating him up when the police raid occurs. While Tom is happy to have the beating stop, he knows that Caspar can and will destroy Leo. So, he does what any honest man would. He tells Leo about the affair with Verna, and goes to work for Caspar.

Despite its pedigree and its star-studded cast, the film is somehow underwhelming. It is consistently good, but I suppose I have come to expect more from the Coens. John Turturro is great as the weasel Bernie, and the rest of the cast does fine, but this isn't up there with Blood Simple or Fargo.