Denzel Washington’s Best Movies Ranked

American Gangster came out in 2007 and in it, Denzel Washington plays Frank Lucas, the real-life mafia kingpin and drug lord who ruled Harlem in the 1970s. The movie follows Lucas on his rise through the criminal underworld and how he ultimately came to oversee a drug operation that was above even the New York mafia.

Russell Crowe is on as well as Richie Roberts, the detective investigating the inner workings of Lucas’s operation. He’s the one who ultimately brings the whole thing down.

The interplay between Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe is top-notch with Washington bringing an A+ performance as the hardened, ruthless, and brilliant Lucas.