I also became in very
reflective mood after the movie. My humble opinion is that the very best part is the scene where Derek is just coming to the
turning point and is in a
prison hospital. Sweeney asks: "
Have you ever done anything that has made your life better?"
Just ignore racism as a topic and generalize the movie to include every possible aspect of life and think about Sweeney's question. It's so much easier to find someone else to blame for everything that's going wrong in your life and, furthermore, does your acts really improve the quality of your life. As I concluded the movie in the email to my lovable girl: If you ever feel hate or anger, if you ever try to make other people responsible for you own bad situation this is the movie you should recall.
Of course, being the eldest son in the family I had a brief thought wondering what kind of influence I've been. Watching those two wee ones it seems like they are very different in some respects and besides, there's not too much to be done anymore since both are grown-ups. But anyway, the movie is good reminded of 2pac's Changes: "How can devil take the brother who's close to me?"
Yet one explanatory aspect of the movie should be mentioned: On the contrary to DancinFool's note, it's the idea how the insecure and aimless people seek any mob and what kind of people whatsoever to associate with. Vast majority of hooligans out there could do so much better if they simply found different interests and sound personal relationships. I think this is the price we have to pay for the airy social groups of post-modern era.