Cartel Land - B+

Rated R, 98 minutes

If you want to know the current state of drug cartels in Mexico, look no further in the downbeat but often powerful new documentary "Cartel Land," which examines the activity of not just the Mexican drug cartels, but more importantly the rise of vigilante groups formed to help dispel their incredibly powerful activity and influence. In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," leads the Autodefensas, a citizen uprising against the violent Knights Templar drug cartel. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley - a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley - Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to stop Mexico's drug wars from seeping across our border. Directed by documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman and executive produced by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker"), the compelling "Cartel Land" is a gritty, chilling look at the vigilante groups and their attempts to stop the spread of the deadly, murderous Mexican drug cartels. The leaders of the respective vigilante groups, both Mireles and Foley, come from widely different backgrounds (Mireles is a doctor in Mexico while Foley is a former drug addict who lost nearly everything to drugs) and work in different areas, but share a united purpose: to fight back at all costs against the cartels, who have seemingly overtaken Mexico and have begun seeping slowly into the U.S. Heinaman's visceral look at the situation takes his camera into the dark, bloody and unpredictable world of the fight, one that touches all levels of society and one that continues today. Mireles' story is slightly more interesting, mainly because it's in the heart of the Mexican desert, not to minimize Foley's difficult fight that is dangerously close to U.S. soil. While Heinaman does a superb job detailing the battle, "Cartel Land" is not an uplifting film - it's rather a depressing, somewhat exhausting one that often blurs the line between good and evil - and while required viewing for teens and above - it's not an enjoyable experience. "Cartel Land" is a powerful, dark look at the drug fight, and more than blurring the line between good and evil, it treads the ground between hope and hopelessness, and will make you wonder if the battle will ever end.