In New York, Detective Alberto Santana (Benny Nieves) comes with his partner Joseph Bruno (Harvey Keitel) to meet his wife Gina and his daughter Celeste (Gabriella Fanuele) to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Out of the blue, Alberto is shot in his head on the sidewalk by a man wearing a hood that delivers a religious message from the Lord. Many years later, Celeste (Florencia Lozano) is a detective of the New York Police Department and partner of Joe Bruno.
When the crooks Alden and Jeff Kane, who had torched their buildings to receive the insurance, are released from prison, they are executed by two criminals in the same modus operandi of detective Santana, and the police department concludes that they are the same killers. Lieutenant Diaz (Wanda de Jesus) assigns Detective Manso (Manny Perez) and Detective Demarco (Saul Stein) from narcotics to investigate the case, for the deception of Celeste. Then the drug dealer Chino and his gang are executed in Manhattan's Lower East Side by the killers Dante and his deformed and deranged twin brother Perfecto (John Leguizamo), and Lieutenant Diaz teams up Joe and Celeste with Manso and Demarco. Meanwhile, Dante meets Celeste in the church and they date first and have a love affair. When Perfecto decides to kill Joe, Dante argues with him but the dysfunctional brother does not listen to him.
"The Ministers" is a film with a good police story ruined by a messy screenplay and a melodramatic direction that transforms a gloomy story with great potential in a soap opera. John Leguizamo and Harvey Keitel have reasonable performances, but Florencia Lozano does not convince as a detective and does not show any chemistry with John Leguizamo. This film really deserved Abel Ferrara in the direction. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Justiceiros de Deus" ("Vigilantes of God")
