The film features an assortment of colourful characters, including gypsy Mickey O'Neil (Brad Pitt), arms-dealer Boris "the Blade" Yurinov (Rade Šerbedžija), professional thief and gambling addict Franky "Four-Fingers" (Benicio del Toro), American gangster-jeweller "Cousin Avi" (Dennis Farina), and bounty hunter Bullet-Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones). It is also distinguished by a kinetic direction and editing style, a circular plot featuring numerous ironic twists of chance and causality, and a fast pace.
The film shares themes, ideas and motifs with Ritchie's first film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It is also filmed in the same visual style and features many of the same actors, including Jones, Statham, and Ford.
Plot
After stealing an 84-carat (17 g) diamond in a heist in Antwerp, Franky "Four-Fingers" (del Toro) goes to London to deliver it to diamond dealer Doug "The Head" (Reid) on behalf of New York jeweller "Cousin Avi" (Farina). One of the other robbers advises Franky to obtain a gun from ex-KGB agent Boris "The Blade" (Šerbedžija). Unbeknownst to Franky, Boris and the robber are brothers and plan to steal the diamond.
Meanwhile, boxing promoter and casino owner Turkish (Statham) convinces gangster "Brick Top" (Alan Ford) to add the boxer "Gorgeous George" (Fogerty) to the bets at Brick Top's bookies. However, when Turkish sends his partner Tommy (Graham) and Gorgeous George to purchase a caravan from a group of pikeys, George gets into a fight with Mickey O'Neil (Pitt), a bare-knuckle boxing champ who badly injures George. Turkish convinces Mickey to replace George in his upcoming match by agreeing to purchase a new caravan for Mickey's mother (Cusack). Brick Top agrees to the change on the condition that Mickey throws the fight in the fourth round.
Boris gives Franky a gun in exchange for a favour: Franky is to place a bet on Boris' behalf at Brick Top's bookies. Avi, knowing Franky has a gambling problem, flies to London with his bodyguard "Rosebud" (Douglas) to claim the diamond. Boris hires Vinny (Gee) and Sol (James), two small-time crooks, to rob Frankie while he is at the bookies. The robbery goes awry and Sol, Vinny, and their driver Tyrone (Ade) are caught on-camera, but manage to kidnap Franky.
Instead of throwing the fight, Mickey knocks his opponent out with a single punch. Infuriated, Brick Top robs Turkish of his savings and demands that Mickey fight again, and lose this time. Meanwhile, Boris retrieves the diamond and executes Franky. As Sol, Vinny, Tyrone, and "Bad Boy" Lincoln (Goldie) are trying to decide how to dispose of Franky's body, Brick Top arrives to execute them for robbing his bookies. Sol bargains for their lives by promising Brick Top the stolen diamond, and is given 48 hours to retrieve it.
Avi and Doug hire "Bullet-Tooth" Tony (Jones) to help them find Franky. When the trail leads to Boris, they kidnap him and retrieve the diamond, closely pursued by Sol, Vinnie, and Tyrone. As they are driving, Tommy throws Turkish's carton of milk out their car window; it splashes over Tony's windscreen, causing him to crash. Boris escapes from the wreck only to be hit by Tyrone's car. Tony and Avi are confronted by Sol, Vinny, and Tyrone at a pub where Tony realizes that their pistols are replicas, and intimidates them into leaving. The wounded Boris arrives with an assault rifle and is killed by Tony, but Sol and Vinny escape with the diamond, which Vinnie hides in his pants. When Tony catches up to them, they tell him that the diamond is back at their pawn shop. Once there, they produce the diamond, but it is promptly swallowed by a dog that Vinnie got from the pikeys. Avi fires at the fleeing dog and accidentally kills Tony. He gives up and returns to New York.
Mickey refuses to fight again unless Turkish buys a better caravan for his mother, but Turkish has no money left. Furious, Brick Top has his men vandalize Turkish's gambling arcade and burn down Mickey's mother's caravan while she is asleep inside. Mickey agrees to fight in order to avoid more carnage, but gets so drunk after his mother's wake that Turkish fears he will not make it to the fourth round. If he fails to go down as agreed, Brick Top's men will execute Turkish, Tommy, Mickey, and the entire campsite of pikeys. Mickey makes it to the fourth round, when he suddenly knocks out his opponent. Outside the arena, Brick Top is killed by the pikeys. Mickey has bet on himself to win, and waited until the fourth round to allow the pikeys time to ambush and kill Brick Top's men at the campsite.
The next morning, Turkish and Tommy find the pikey campsite deserted. When confronted by the police, they cannot explain why they are there, until Vinny's dog suddenly arrives and they claim to be walking it. Sol and Vinnie are arrested when the police find Franky and Tony's bodies in their car. Turkish and Tommy take the dog to a veterinarian to extract a squeaky toy that it had swallowed, and discover the diamond in its stomach as well. They consult Doug about selling the diamond, and he calls Avi, who returns to London.
