Whereas everybody knows about the Mafia, they may not know about the Camorra. What the Mafia is to Sicily, the Camorra is to Campania, the region around Naples. It has infiltrated nearly every aspect of life in its territory. Its members include doctors, businesspeople, blue-collar workers, garbage collectors, psychologists, tailors, farmhands and many more. It earns money from the drug trade, construction, tourism transport, textiles, toxic waste, and supermarkets. It has even bought shares in the reconstruction of the Twin Towers in New York.

The story of the Camorra's power was made known in the book Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano and is now a film directed by Matteo Garrone. The film won the Grand Prix at Cannes. Saviano has been granted a permanent police escort because of threats made against him by the crime bosses he has named in his book. The popularity of the book has forced the government to begin taking action against the Camorra. Saviano has become a hero and symbol of the fight against organized crime.

The film version focuses on five interwoven stories. The extent of the ways Camorra is intertwined with life in Naples makes it impossible to show everything; instead we get a sampling of its many facets.

Don Ciro's job is to distribute money to the families of prisoners affiliated with his clan. When the clan begins to crumble and rival factions begin killing, he has to worry about his own survival.

Toto is thirteen and is anxious to become involved with the Camorra. He begins as a lookout at the center of drug dealing. Soon he must pick a side in the growing war between the factions—a choice that will lead to very difficult decisions.

Marco and Ciro are a couple of wannabes who play at being gangsters. They can recite scenes from Scarface and picture themselves as the new Tony Montana. The real gangsters see them as interfering with their business.

Roberto has just finished university and has been given a great job dealing with toxic waste. When he discovers how crooked it all is, he wants out.

Pasquale is a tailor who works as a subcontractor for the haute couture industry. (The Camorra is heavily involved in counterfeit designer fashion.) He branches out to using a sweatshop of Chinese competitors and trouble follows.

There can't be many happy endings in these stories. This is a world that has violence as its foundation. Everything revolves around power, money, and blood. Those who cross the Camorra may well have to answer with their lives. There are a few signs of hope in the end, but only for those who are finding a way out of the shadow of the Camorra.

All the stories are engaging, but the ones I found most interesting were those of Toto and of Marco and Ciro, people on the edge of gang life who so wanted to be part of it. These are not people who became corrupted by the Camorra investing in their business. They long to be part of what they see as a way to become important or out of some sense of romanticizing of gangsters.

It's hard to imagine wanting to be part of such a deadly game. As outsiders we can see the danger, evil, and dead end that this kind of life represents, but for those closer to it, it seems to lure them with the hope of meaning for lives filled with despair. In the end, the despair only deepens.