Matthew Heineman takes us deep into the world of Mexican drug cartels by embedding himself with two vigilante groups on either side of the US-Mexico border. With unprecedented access, his ground-breaking documentary captures the actions of the two groups which take action with a common aim: to impede the advancement of the Mexican drug cartels, often taking questionable measures to ensure victory. Heineman passionately follows a bunch of fascinating characters, part of the retaliatory forces that have formed in the wake of cartel violence: the Autodefensas, a Mexican vigilante group who fight to free their town from cartel dominion, and the Arizona Border Recon, an American militia who defend their border from traffickers. A raw, gripping drug-war saga, which occasionally makes you fear for the filmmakers’ safety, the film poses larger questions on violence, corruption, ownership of the law and the ways in which noble intentions can become distorted by violence and power. As the events unfold, it becomes clear that the film transcends a visual examination of good and evil: nothing is black and white – in Cartel Land or elsewhere.