Léo Vrinks is head of the BRI (Brigade de recherche et d'intervention), while Denis Klein is head of the BRB (Brigade de répression du banditisme) – two units in the Byzantine system called the French police. These two power animals now have their respective sights set on the same, rather prestigious job: director of the DRPJ (Direction Régionale de Police Judiciaire), headquartered at 36 Quai des Orfèvres in Paris.
This moody mix of a political and crime thriller became the breakthrough work for ex-cop/actor Olivier Marchal, who as a producer/writer would become something like the patron of French crime cinema’s new breed. Allusions are made to two notorious cases from the 80s: the gang des ripoux, a cabal of cops turned robbers, and the gang des postiches, a group of gangsters who wore wigs and false beards on the job.