An emotional cinematic offering, Nine Dragons is a story of three friends who work as hired killers. Led by Marwan, this gang of antiheroes rules – but does not terrorise - one of the ghettos in Jakarta's inner city. Their aim is rid the world of dodgy-looking businessmen and fight to the bitter end for their friendship. Their life in crime starts in their teens through an accidental killing. Instead of being thrown into jail, they are rewarded! Thus they find their calling in life. But the film does not romanticise them. Rather, it shows them wandering down narrow alleys, waiting for the victims to walk into their traps. After a while, they start thinking big and want to move ahead in life. The question is: how do they get out of the rut they are in? What else can they do besides kill and maim? Soedjarwo has the ability to press the right emotional buttons at the appropriate moment. What he delivers is an insight into the sad, unglamorous and painful life of a criminal.