Protégé is a 2007 Hong Kong-Singaporean co-produced crime drama film written and directed by Derek Yee, starring Andy Lau, Daniel Wu, Louis Koo, Zhang Jingchu and Anita Yuen.

Plot

Undercover officer Nick had spent the last seven years penetrating into the core of a drug ring, working his way up from a street dealer post to the managerial position handling cargo deliveries for Kwan – the biggest player in the local heroin market. When the ailing Kwan makes Nick his protégé, Nick cannot help but sway before money and power and starts to perform his role like a real drug trafficker. This, together with his affair with heroin-addict Jane, causes Nick to become more and more confused about his true identity, and eventually leads to a disastrous end.

The film begins with a scene in a dark isolated rundown apartment building, showing a heroin addict living poorly with her young daughter. The scene then forwards to the perspective of Officer Nick who is suffering from loneliness just after completing an undercover assignment. He recalls the entire story of what happened and the events to lead to his emptiness.