This film is an absurd attempt to show life as it is. It is like a dream, suffused with cynicism, fatalism and moral ambiguity. The Red Circle intertwines the life stories of four different characters: three criminals (one of them a former policeman) and a police inspector. They are united by their status as lonely laymen whose desperate lives are dominated by the aforementioned fatalism, where the only ambition is to get out of the current desperate circumstances, by the concept of truth, where the world is dark and deceptive, and people are always out to harm, and by loyalty, the only value in such a miserable life. However, despite the prevailing gloomy mood towards life, the characterisation of the same characters gives the film a relatively positive slant. And the phrase "Everybody commits crime, even the cops" not only shows the director's view that there is no tangible difference between good and evil in the world, but it also highlights the value of fraternity and respect in human relationships.The very title of the film refers to the already known fates of the protagonists: on that day, they will all meet in the red circle, regardless of what has happened to each of them or where their paths have led them before.At the time, it was one of the most watched films in France, and is considered to be the director's finest and most satisfying work.