Three times I have watched this film - on a DVD, on a PC, and on SBS. Every time I watch it, I learn some new detail about the story - just like Fight Club. Definitely one of the best suspense-thriller to come out of Hong Kong. It's so good, Martin Scorsese recently made a remake called The Departed starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, etc. Even then, some critics say that Infernal Affairs is still better. I personally haven't see The Departed, so let's not go there.On its own, the score and the shots used in Infernal Affairs are just great. When it comes to police/gangster/triad movies, Hong Kong is one of the best. That sequence where the gangsters are about to make the drugs exchange at the beach, and the cops just waiting to pounce on them, and the police superintendent and the crime boss in their control rooms getting last-minute inputs from their moles, trying to outwit each other - just wonderful.
And the scene where the good cop and bad cop face each other off at the rooftop overlooking the city - that's the iconic shot of the movie.No, I'm not gonna tell the story here because that'll take all day. A lot of people are confused whether Andy Lau's character (Ming) is a good person or not. In one scene of the movie, the pleads with Tony Leung's character (Yan) that "I just want to be a good cop." "Sorry, I'm a cop. Tell that to the judge." I truly believe early on that Lau wanted to reform.
In that scene where Yan was kicked out of cadet school, Ming has already mentioned (silently) that he'd rather be kicked out, too. Maybe he's just an unwilling pawn in the crime boss' chessboard, biding his time until he can cleanly kill off his controller, which he did in a sting operation. He cornered the boss in an underground parking level and shot him point blank. He thought he's now a free man - a up-and-coming hotshot police officer with a pretty wife and a new apartment - able to start life with a clean slate. Then it all comes tumbling down because it ain't over till Yan says it's over. Yan found out that Ming was the mole so he sent a recording of Ming's conversation with the crime lord to his wife. Yan probably can't forgive Ming for the death of Superintendent Wong. This is the point of no return for Ming because with Yan alive, he could lose everything he had. 
In a fit of rage, he deletes Yan's police record - his only link to the force. He then tells his wife that he still has the file and will set everything all right - which is an outright lie. Jump to the square-off at the rooftop. Yan let his guard down for a while, and was promptly shot in the head by one of Ming's cohorts in the force. Ming must be so frustrated - just how many people know about his secret identity?! He kills off his comrade in the lift. He walks out of the lift to face the cops - gun up and badge out.So, does crime pay? Watch sequel Infernal Affairs III. (Part II is the prequel.)
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