Definitely a very powerful, affecting film, and it does it - for the most part - without any cheap emotional stunts or manipulative storytelling. The narrative is raw, gritty, and damn near nihilistic, and its position on capital punishment is seemingly clear and straight-forward, but there's a kind of Catholic realism present throughout, stemming from Kieslowski's upbringing, that gives the whole thing an almost supernatural edge. There's nothing extraordinary or fantastical about the characters, or the lives they lead, but if you look closer, and really let the film get under your skin, you can see Kieslowski's Catholicism seeping through.

Great film.