A Chicano gang story, but the characters and acting are beyond what you might initially expect. Three cousins are sucked into neighborhood violence when one of them is attacked and severely injured. The retaliation ends up with Miklo in prison. He runs into gangs there, too, and earns his way to the top of the chain by killing another prisoner. He eventually gets out of prison, but dissatisfied with the only menial job he could find, he participates in an armored car robbery-which goes wrong. In the meantime, Paco has become a police officer, and ends up confronting Miklo at the scene and shoots Miklo in the leg. That leads to leg amputation, and Miklo back in prison. Much mayem ensues-you will not be bored.
You’ll have to buy the DVD, as I couldn’t find it streaming anywhere. I did find it on Youtube, but the sound craps out about 2/3 through the movie. I had seen it many years ago when it was on VHS. It’s also been renamed as Bound by Honor. So,I bought it and rewatched it-yes, my recollection is good-it’s really good.