Top 30 Ranked

The Best Crime Movies of 2000, Ranked

Classic Noir and Gritty Thrillers from the Millennium

Explore the best crime cinema hits and cult classics. From heist thrillers to gritty dramas, discover the definitive guide to millennium crime movies.

Draft Best 2000 Crime Movies with friends and our judges will crown a winner!

About 2000 Crime Movies

As the clock struck midnight on the new millennium, the film industry seemed possessed by a frantic, nervous energy. The crime genre, in particular, was shedding its nineties skin. The era of the Tarantino clone was finally gasping its last breath, replaced by a sophisticated, global, and often deeply experimental approach to underworld narratives. Looking back at the year 2000, it becomes clear that we were witnessing a pivotal transition from the gritty cynicism of the previous decade into a more cerebral and visually adventurous era of storytelling.

At the forefront of this shift was Steven Soderbergh. In a single calendar year, he managed to redefine the American drug war with Traffic. It was a sprawling, mosaic narrative that felt more like a documentary than a Hollywood thriller. By using distinct color palettes for its three interlocking storylines, the film stripped away the glamour of the narcotics trade, replacing it with a cold, systemic look at how addiction and policy wreck lives. It was an intellectual exercise that still managed to pack a visceral punch, and its massive success signaled that audiences were hungry for complexity.

Across the Atlantic, Guy Ritchie was perfecting its rowdy British counterpart with Snatch. While his debut had introduced the world to the cockney crime caper, Snatch refined it into a high speed piece of pop art. It was loud, stylized, and featured a career pivoting performance by Brad Pitt as an indecipherable boxer. If Traffic represented the heavy gravity of the genre, Snatch was its caffeinated heartbeat. It proved that crime movies could be pure, kinetic fun without sacrificing a sharp sense of place and dialogue.

However, the most significant earthquake in the genre that year came from Christopher Nolan. With Memento, he took a standard noir trope, the man with amnesia seeking revenge, and fractured it into a reverse chronological puzzle. It was a formalist masterpiece that forced the viewer to experience the protagonist’s confusion in real time. Memento did not just tell a crime story; it questioned the very nature of memory and objective truth. It was the moment we realized that the crime film could be the perfect vessel for philosophical inquiry.

The international stage was just as vibrant. From Hong Kong came Wong Kar-wai with In the Mood for Love, which, while often classified as a romance, operates with the tension and secrecy of a heist film. Meanwhile, the dark comedy of crime found a new peak in Mary Harron’s American Psycho. By blending the soul of a slasher with the trappings of Wall Street corporate culture, Harron turned the crime film into a biting satire of eighties excess and male vanity. Christian Bale’s portrayal of Patrick Bateman remains a chilling reminder that the most dangerous criminals often hide in plain sight, wearing expensive suits.

The year 2000 was a rare moment where the genre felt limitless. Whether it was the neon soaked streets of an urban thriller or the quiet, suburban dread of Sexy Beast, filmmakers were no longer content with simple cops and robbers stories. They were dismantled the machinery of the genre and putting it back together in strange, beautiful new shapes. It was a year that promised a brave new world for cinema, where the only rule was that there were no rules left to follow.

The Complete Rankings

Based on the top picks in drafts on SnakeDrafts

See Top Ten
30
2000 Crime in Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000)
Dead or Alive 2: Birds
2000

Two contract killers cross paths in the middle of the same job and realize they are childhood friends. Together they take a break from killing and visit the small island they once called home. After reflecting on their past lives they decided to team up and use their talents in killing for good... much to the upset of the crime syndicates.

Crime
Drama
1h 37m
Takashi Miike
Show Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, Noriko Aota, Edison Chen
29
2000 Crime in Common Wealth (2000)
Common Wealth
2000

After finding an enormous amount of money hidden in a dead man's apartment, real estate agent Julia must face the wrath of the very peculiar inhabitants of the apartment building, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the money.

Comedy
Thriller
1h 49m
Álex de la Iglesia
Carmen Maura, Eduardo Antuña, María Asquerino, Jesús Bonilla
28
2000 Crime in The Crimson Rivers (2000)
The Crimson Rivers
2000

Two French policemen, one investigating a grisly murder at a remote mountain college, the other working on the desecration of a young girl's grave by skinheads, are brought together by the clues from their respective cases. Soon after they start working together, more murders are committed, and the pair begin to discover just what dark secrets are behind the killings.

Crime
Mystery
1h 46m
Mathieu Kassovitz
Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Farès, Dominique Sanda

Draft this topic with friends

Think you'd pick differently? Start a draft with your crew and see who really has the best taste in Best 2000 Crime Movies.

27
2000 Crime in Hera Pheri (2000)
Hera Pheri
2000

Two tenants and a landlord, in desperate need of money, chance upon a ransom call via a cross connection. They hatch a plan to claim the ransom for themselves.

Comedy
Crime
2h 36m
Priyadarshan
Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Tabu
26
2000 Crime in Brother 2 (2000)
Brother 2
2000

Arriving in Moscow, Chechen War veteran Danila meets Konstantin, an old friend who tells him that his twin brother has been forced into signing a crooked contract with a US ice hockey team. Soon after this meeting, Danila discovers Konstantin dead and he sets out to avenge his death; a journey that leads him to Chicago and a whole new experience.

Action
Crime
2h 2m
Aleksei Balabanov
Sergei Bodrov Jr., Viktor Sukhorukov, Aleksandr Dyachenko, Kirill Pirogov
25
2000 Crime in Brother (2000)
Brother
2000

A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang. Original Title: ブラザー

Crime
Drama
1h 53m
Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano, Omar Epps, Claude Maki, Susumu Terajima
24
2000 Crime in Flickering Lights (2000)
Flickering Lights
2000

Four small gangsters from Copenhagen trick a gangster boss: they take over 4,000,000 kroner which they were supposed to bring him. Trying to escape to Barcelona they are forced to stop in the countryside, in an old, wrecked house, hiding there for several weeks. Slowly, one after another, they realize, that they would like to stay there, start a new life.

Action
Comedy
1h 49m
Anders Thomas Jensen
Søren Pilmark, Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas
23
2000 Crime in Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000)
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations
2000

Revisiting the 1994 Arkansas murder of three 8-year-old boys and the three teenagers convicted of the crime. A follow up to Paradise Lost, Revelations features new interviews with the convicted men, as well as with the original judge and police investigators.

Documentary
Crime
2h 10m
Bruce Sinofsky
Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley Jr., John Mark Byers
22
2000 Crime in Our Lady of the Assassins (2000)
Our Lady of the Assassins
2000

World-weary author Fernando has returned to his native Colombia to live out his days in peace. But Fernando's once-quiet hometown has become a hotbed of violence, drugs, and corruption. On the brink of despair, Fernando meets Alexis, a beautiful but hardened street kid who lives by the rule of the gun. Together, they forge an unlikely relationship.

Crime
Drama
1h 41m
Barbet Schroeder
Germán Jaramillo, Anderson Ballesteros, Juan David Restrepo, Manuel Busquets
21
2000 Crime in Frequency (2000)
Frequency
2000

When a rare phenomenon gives police officer John Sullivan the chance to speak to his father, 30 years in the past, he takes the opportunity to prevent his dad's tragic death. After his actions inadvertently give rise to a series of brutal murders he and his father must find a way to fix the consequences of altering time.

Science Fiction
Thriller
1h 58m
Gregory Hoblit
Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, Shawn Doyle, Elizabeth Mitchell
20

In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.

Adventure
Comedy
1h 47m
Joel Coen
19

A young aspiring violinist unwittingly becomes involved with a criminal gang.

Comedy
Crime
1h 40m
Olaf Lubaszenko
Maciej Stuhr, Cezary Pazura, Michał Milowicz, Mirosław Zbrojewicz
18
2000 Crime in Detective Conan: Captured in Her Eyes (2000)
Detective Conan: Captured in Her Eyes
2000

Police officers around Tokyo are being murdered by an unknown assailant. When Ran witnesses an attempt on the life of one of her friends in the police, she loses her memory. Now, Conan and Inspector Megure must find the murderer while Ran attempts to regain her lost memories.

Animation
Crime
1h 40m
Kenji Kodama
Minami Takayama, Kappei Yamaguchi, Wakana Yamazaki, Akira Kamiya
17
2000 Crime in Nine Queens (2000)
Nine Queens
2000

Two con artists try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps, the "nine queens".

Crime
Thriller
1h 54m
Fabián Bielinsky
Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Leticia Brédice, Gabo Correa
16
2000 Crime in Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Dancer in the Dark
2000

Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.

Drama
Crime
Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare
15

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.

Crime
Drama
1h 42m
Darren Aronofsky
14
2000 Crime in Animal Factory (2000)
Animal Factory
2000

Suburbanite Ron is spoiled, young and not overly worried about the marijuana charges leveled against him. But, after being made out to be a drug dealer, he faces a five-year jail sentence in San Quentin State Prison. Physically frail and unaccustomed to his rough surroundings, Ron is primed to fall victim to sexual predators and bullying guards – that is, until he's befriended by Earl, a veteran inmate who finds meaning in protecting the vulnerable new kid.

Crime
Drama
Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Danny Trejo, Mark Boone Junior
13
2000 Crime in The Skulls (2000)
The Skulls
2000

A senior at an Ivy League college, who depends on scholarships and working on the side, gets accepted into the secret society The Skulls. He hopes it betters chances at Harvard but The Skulls is not what he thought and comes at a price.

Crime
Drama
1h 46m
Rob Cohen
Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Hill Harper, Leslie Bibb
12
2000 Crime in Romeo Must Die (2000)
Romeo Must Die
2000

Two warring gang families (one African-American, the other Chinese) maneuver for bragging rights to the Oakland, California, docks. Hang Sing and Trish O'Day uncover a trail of deceit that leaves most of the warring factions dead … or worse!

Action
Crime
1h 55m
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Jet Li, Aaliyah, Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong
11
2000 Crime in Reindeer Games (2000)
Reindeer Games
2000

After assuming his dead cellmate's identity to get with his girlfriend, an ex-con finds himself the reluctant participant in a casino heist.

10

After a mobster agrees to cooperate with an FBI investigation in order to stay out of prison, he's relocated by the authorities to a life of suburban anonymity as part of a witness protection program. It's not long before a couple of his new neighbours figure out his true identity and come knocking to see if he'd be up for one more hit—suburban style.

Comedy
Crime
1h 38m
Jonathan Lynn
Why it ranks

Interjecting a manic, slapstick energy into the hitman subgenre, this film thrives on the friction between suburban domesticity and professional lethality. It remains a notable example of how the crime comedy can pivot on charismatic chemistry and absurd situational irony.

9

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.

Why it ranks

James Gray crafts a somber, operatic tragedy centered on the industrial corruption and tribal loyalties of the outer boroughs. Its muted palette and patient pacing evoke a classic 1970s paranoia that feels increasingly rare in the modern crime landscape.

8
2000 Crime in Boiler Room (2000)
Boiler Room
2000

A college dropout gets a job as a broker for a suburban investment firm and is on the fast track to success—but the job might not be as legitimate as it sounds.

Crime
Drama
1h 58m
Ben Younger
Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Nicky Katt
Why it ranks

This aggressive exploration of white-collar predation captures the adrenaline-fueled toxicity of pump-and-dump brokerage firms. It functions as a cautionary tale of generational greed, trading physical violence for the lethal speed of a telemarketing script.

7
2000 Crime in Under Suspicion (2000)
Under Suspicion
2000

A lawyer is asked to come to the police station to clear up a few loose ends in his witness report of a foul murder. "This will only take ten minutes", they say, but it turns out to be one loose end after another, and the ten minutes he is away from his speech become longer and longer.

Thriller
Crime
1h 50m
Stephen Hopkins
Why it ranks

A claustrophobic exercise in psychological combat, this film succeeds by pitting two acting titans against one another in a dense, dialogue-driven interrogation. It eschews external action to mine the murky ethical waters of guilt, memory, and circumstantial evidence.

6
2000 Crime in Shaft (2000)
Shaft
2000

New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.

Action
Adventure
1h 39m
John Singleton
Why it ranks

John Singleton revitalizes the blaxploitation archetype by leaning into Samuel L. Jackson's undeniable gravitas and a gritty, street-level view of New York corruption. This revival balances retro cool with a cynical look at civil rights and judicial loopholes.

5
2000 Crime in The Way of the Gun (2000)
The Way of the Gun
2000

Two criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother of a powerful and shady man.

Action
Crime
1h 59m
Christopher McQuarrie
Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs
Why it ranks

Christopher McQuarrie strips away the excess of the genre to deliver a nihilistic, tactically authentic western masquerading as a modern kidnapping thriller. Its commitment to technical realism and a bleak, uncompromising worldview sets it apart from its more stylized contemporaries.

4

Ex-car thief Randall Raines is forced out of retirement to save his brother Kip after a boost gone wrong. With the help of allies old and new, they race to meet the demands of notorious crime boss Raymond Calitri as the police are in hot pursuit.

Action
Crime
1h 58m
Dominic Sena
Why it ranks

This high-octane spectacle prioritizes the fetishization of the automobile over traditional noir sensibilities, delivering a slick, neon-soaked thrill ride. It captures the turn-of-the-millennium obsession with high-tech thievery and polished, blockbuster escapism.

3

A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.

Thriller
Drama
1h 42m
Mary Harron
Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage
Why it ranks

Mary Harron transforms Bret Easton Ellis's transgressive source material into a sharp, blood-spattered satire of Reagan-era consumerism and masculine vanity. Christian Bale’s terrifyingly precise performance anchors a film that finds the pitch-black comedy within a serial killer's corporate psychosis.

2

An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin's sheltered trophy wife must learn her husband's ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.

Why it ranks

Steven Soderbergh employs a sophisticated, color-coded visual language to dismantle the systemic futility of the drug trade. This sprawl of institutional rot avoids easy moralizing, opting instead for a cold, clinical examination of a global crisis.

1
2000 Crime in Snatch (2000)
2000

Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookies, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewellers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.

Crime
Comedy
Jason Statham, Alan Ford, Stephen Graham, Brad Pitt
Why it ranks

Guy Ritchie perfects his kinetic, foul-mouthed alchemy here, blending diamond-heist tropes with a gritty London underworld that feels both cartoonish and dangerously tactile. It is a masterpiece of interlocking trajectories and rhythmic editing that defined the decade's British crime aesthetic.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this list and SnakeDrafts

The best crime movies of 2000 span several subgenres including heist thrillers, gritty dramas, and dark comedies. For example, 'Snatch' combines crime with comedy, while 'Traffic' explores the drug trade through a dramatic and thriller lens.

Crime films in 2000 marked a shift from the Tarantino-influenced style of the 1990s towards more sophisticated and globally experimental narratives. Movies like 'American Psycho' introduced psychological depth and social commentary, indicating a new era for crime cinema.

'Gone in Sixty Seconds' exemplifies the action-packed thriller within the 2000 crime film category, focusing on a high-stakes car heist that blends intense action sequences with crime-driven suspense.

Yes, films like 'The Whole Nine Yards' and 'Snatch' creatively combine crime with comedic elements, offering a lighter yet sharp take on traditional crime narratives.

Prominent directors such as Guy Ritchie with 'Snatch,' Steven Soderbergh with 'Traffic,' and Mary Harron with 'American Psycho' brought unique perspectives and styles that contributed significantly to the crime genre's evolution in 2000.

Absolutely. 'Traffic' addresses drug trafficking and its societal impacts, while 'American Psycho' critiques materialism and identity in modern society, reflecting deeper social commentaries within the crime genre.

Yes, crime films from 2000 range from urban heist scenarios in 'Snatch' to psychological and suburban explorations in 'American Psycho,' showing a broad spectrum of storytelling environments and character complexities.

Common themes include moral ambiguity, power struggles, and the psychological impact of crime, as seen in films like 'The Way of the Gun' and 'Under Suspicion.' These themes contribute to the genre's depth and audience engagement.
Join Thousands of Drafters

Think You Can Pick Better?

Challenge your friends, make your picks, and let AI + human judges decide who has the best taste!

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play