The Ruthless (2019) Plot Summary Explained

Santo's father refused to acknowledge him because he was a former 'Ndrangheta member who had been expelled from the organization for a transgression. The father was ashamed of his past and wanted to distance himself from his criminal origins, so when the police contacted him about Santo's incident, he denied knowing his son. This rejection led Santo to be placed in Beccaria juvenile detention center for four months.

Foreshadowing: The father's rejection foreshadows Santo's eventual isolation from traditional family structures and his descent into criminal kinship.

• Santo Russo father
• Beccaria juvenile detention
• family rejection
• 'Ndrangheta

Santo met Slim (Alessio Praticò) while both were incarcerated in Beccaria juvenile detention center. Slim was another young Calabrian inmate serving time for robberies. Their shared Calabrian background and criminal experiences created an immediate bond. This partnership became the foundation for Santo's future criminal operations, as Slim would later collaborate with him in orchestrating robberies, kidnappings, and the heroin trade throughout Lombardy.

• Slim Mammone
• Beccaria detention
• Santo criminal partnership
• Calabrian criminals

Santo turned to crime primarily due to his father's rejection and the lack of legitimate opportunities available to him as a young Calabrian immigrant in Milan. After spending four months in Beccaria, he had already been exposed to the criminal underworld and forged connections with Slim. The 'Ndrangheta affiliates from his hometown were actively operating in Lombardy under the Gaetani family, providing a ready pathway into organized crime.

Foreshadowing: The New Year's Eve incident and subsequent detention planted the seeds for Santo's criminal identity by introducing him to Slim and cutting off his connection to a normal life.

• Santo criminal career
• Beccaria release
• 'Ndrangheta Lombardy
• Santo rise crime

The Gaetani family controlled the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta affiliates operating in Lombardy. Santo aligned himself with these criminals early in his career, using the Gaetani network to execute robberies, kidnappings, and eventually heroin production. This connection provided him with the infrastructure, protection, and operational reach to escalate his criminal enterprise significantly.

• Gaetani family
• 'Ndrangheta Lombardy
• organized crime network
• Santo criminal enterprise

After years of rising through the criminal ranks and participating in kidnappings, murders, and heroin smuggling, Santo made the dramatic decision to cooperate with law enforcement, providing information about the Gaetani-controlled network. This choice marked the end of his ascent in the criminal world and had severe consequences for himself and his associates. The decision reflected a turning point in his life, though the specific motivations behind his choice to betray his criminal partners are not detailed in the summary.

• Santo cooperates police
• betray criminal network
• Gaetani information
• Santo downfall

Santo's criminal activities escalated gradually from initial robberies to more serious crimes. After Beccaria, he started with heists using his Calabrian connections and the Lombardy network. He then moved to kidnapping operations across Lombardy, which expanded his operational reach. Eventually, he integrated heroin production into his operations, adding a lucrative drug trade to the enterprise. This escalation transformed him from a petty criminal into a key operative within the Gaetani-controlled 'Ndrangheta network.

• Santo robberies
• kidnapping operations
• heroin production
• criminal escalation

Santo's four months in Beccaria juvenile detention center became the pivotal turning point that shaped his entire future. It was there that he met Slim, forming a partnership that would drive his criminal operations for decades. The detention also severed his last connection to a normal life, as his father's rejection left him without family support. From Beccaria onward, Santo was fully immersed in the criminal underworld.

• Beccaria juvenile center
• Santo detention
• life-changing moment
• criminal partnership

The start of Santo's criminal career was triggered by a combination of factors: his father's rejection after the New Year's Eve incident, his exposure to the 'Ndrangheta network already operating in Milan, and his friendship with Slim in Beccaria. After release from detention, he had neither legitimate opportunities nor family support, so he naturally gravitated toward the criminal path that his Calabrian connections made available.

• Santo criminal start
• Milan criminal world
• after Beccaria
• Santo path crime

Santo and Mario became friends soon after arriving in Milan, bonding while Santo worked as a porter in Romano Banco. Mario was the son of the local deli owner, providing Santo with a connection to the community. After Santo's release from Beccaria, their childhood friendship evolved into a criminal partnership, with Mario joining Santo and Slim in their criminal operations across Lombardy.

• Mario Barbieri
• Santo friend
• Romano Banco
• criminal partnership

The Calabrian 'Ndrangheta extended its reach into Lombardy through affiliates from Calabria who established networks in the Milan area. The powerful Gaetani family controlled these operations, creating a cross-regional crime axis between Calabria and Lombardy. Santo's father had been a former member of this organization before being expelled, and when Santo arrived in Milan, he found this criminal infrastructure already in place, allowing him to join and eventually rise through its ranks.

• 'Ndrangheta Lombardy
• Calabrian organized crime
• Gaetani control
• regional crime network

The specific nature of Santo's father's transgression against the 'Ndrangheta is not detailed in the summary. He was simply described as a former member who was expelled from the organization for a transgression. This expulsion forced him to relocate his family to Milan, where he tried to distance himself from his criminal past, ultimately rejecting Santo when the police contacted him after the New Year's Eve incident.

• Santo father 'Ndrangheta
• expelled member
• family migration
• Calabria to Milan