Ignacio Lopez Tarso has an outstanding performance as an honest government official. This quality creates many difficulties in a system where corruption is king. His stoic approach clashes with the personal ambitions of those who work in a system of "mordidas" (bribes). Some people even consider the protagonist a fool because he doesn't take advantage of his position. The film goes beyond the social criticism of the Mexican government. It also includes the complex interactions in a family circle where the protagonists attempts to gain the respect from his son, a teenager who feels defeated in life because the government corruption affects everybody's lives. Furthermore, the film presents a transcendental theme when it places the human being in a dilemma as to how to proceed. Do we have the strength to resist an evil world that entices us to to follow an easy path of perdition or take the seldom trod path of righteousness?
