Clockers (1995)

The Dunham brothers grew up together in the same Brooklyn housing projects, yet they're as opposite as good is from evil. Victor Dunham has a family, works two jobs and leads a respectable life. His younger brother Strike, on the other hand, has an "office" bench with a panoramic view of the projects and an eager staff selling vials of crack for instant profit. When a rival dealer is murdered, it is the upstanding sibling who steps forward with a stunning confession. Veteran homicide detective Rocco Klein--disillusioned for longer than he can remember and on the verge of retirement--is on the case. Though a conviction is all but handed to Rocco on a silver platter, he, unlike partner Larry Mazilli, is cursed with an inability to accept the confession at face value. Rocco will not rest until he breaks down the stories of both brothers, till he saves the one who has struggled to lead a virtuous life and condemns his undeserving sibling to a life behind bars.