When we meet Malik (Tahar Rahim), he's just a nineteen-year-old guy who made the wrong decision and finds himself with a "short" six-month stay in prison, determined to stay isolated and keep his head down. Soon, he's propositioned by Cesar (Niels Arestrup), who provides him with an option: kill a witness in an upcoming trial, Reyeb (Hichem Yacoubi), who has been temporarily incarcerated with them, or end up dead himself. As many critics have pointed out by way of comparison, Malik has been "made an offer he can't refuse."

What spirals out of this first encounter with Cesar leads to an illustrious "career" for Malik as a runner, hitman, and gopher for the prison's crime boss. But what Cesar doesn't know is that Malik is prepared to better himself by way of education and by allying himself with others who are loners as well. He's growing an empire, whether by accident or with intent, and it will one day cause a disruption in the power that Cesar has come to count on for himself.

A Prophet spares the audience little. Whether it is Malik's first murder, the death of Reyeb, or any of the brutalities of prison, director Jaques Audiard doesn't blink when focusing the camera on the battles for life and soul in the walls of the prison or in the hearts of the men stuck there. But the audience may blink a bit—I know I did. It's hard to watch some of the violence, and the way it's shot; the way that the line of sight moves, you feel like you're riding through half-live/half-documentary filming like that done by Paul Greengrass.

But the true vision that Audiard provides is in the eyes or heart of young Malik. I'm hardly comfortable with a foreign language film that I can't run in dubbing (yeah, I know, I'm a real purist) but the film really felt real, and it made you consider the way that prison might not be for rehabilitating everyone. Was Malik "evil" before he ended up inside or did what happened there force him to choose doing wrong over being dead? How would we respond in those situations? Could we always choose right?

The truth is that all of Malik's choices haunt him, not least the murder of Reyeb who "visits" Malik afterward. All of his choices are tough ones, and while they are not things I can relate to, they are still problematic. He's not working toward a few extra dollars or a nicer car, he's trying to stay alive and make his future something that isn't filled with fear. But the problem is that his line of progression, his ascension to the top of the food chain, breeds more fear, and there is always a younger, stronger fighter or clan ready to challenge so that they will take the highest place.

A Prophet is a story of growth and power, but it is also one of tragedy, sadness, and isolation. No matter what the setting or language, the story of drugs and violence always ends in pain. What audiences will struggle to discover is this: can Malik extricate himself from his prison troubles, and find his way to happiness and freedom, or will his decisions inside lead to an early demise?