'Moses the Black': Repentance, Redemption, and Orthodoxy are In Da Club

Indie film tells the story of an ancient saint on the streets of Southside Chicago

Content warning: Moses the Black contains heavy swearing and gang violence

When I first heard about this film, I couldn’t imagine a more insane project. On the one hand, it purports to be the story of an ancient Christian saint, St. Moses the Black, who lived and died in Egypt in the 4th century. It is written and directed by Yelena Popovic, the Serbian-American filmmaker who was the creative force behind 2021’s Man of God, a slow and meditative hagiography of the Orthodox saint Nektarios of Aegina.

On the other hand, it was produced by Curtis James Jackson III, better known professionally as 50 Cent. It features rapper Wiz Khalifa as a character named 2wo 3ree, Quavo (the frontman of popular mid-2010s mumble-rap group Migos) as Straw, and is set on the streets of Southside Chicago.

What, exactly, was I getting myself in for?

It turns out a movie which should have felt disjointed, two styles contrasting to make a messy final product, ended up harmonizing the two styles, creating something unique and refreshing. Moses the Black is one of the best independent films I’ve seen in a long time, examining questions of guilt, repentance, redemption, revenge, love, and intercession better than any other film in decades. Popovic really shows her talent, both visually and for story-telling, by creating a film which is simultaneously a strong, brutal crime drama and yet an intimate spiritual character study, exposing some of the ugliness and violence of gangland but with delicate and beautiful camera work. I was very impressed by this film and, though it’s not for everyone, is a great example of how filmmaking can be true Christian art while remaining compelling on its own terms as an entry in its genre.

Moses the Black follows the story of Malik (Omar Epps), a Chicago gang leader who is released from prison at the beginning of the film. He is rankled by guilt and anger stemming from the killing of one of his closest friends by a rival gang and immediately starts putting a plan of revenge into place. He sends his foot soldiers, led by Wiz Khalifa’s 2wo 3ree, to start killing their rivals. However, a gift of a holy card of St. Moses the Black from his dying grandmother starts him pondering his life, leading to dreams of the mysterious Egyptian monk.

The reason that Popovic chose this angle to tell the story of St. Moses the Black becomes clear. Before his conversion, Moses had been a highway robber and a murderer. He had a deep spiritual experience while hiding from the law in a monastery, and became a deep penitent and mystic. Where a more traditionally virtuous person would not reach the hardened Malik, Moses’ intense story of conversion, penance, and ultimate sacrifice speaks deeply to his soul. Malik experiences a dark night of soul, trying to reconcile his loyalties to his gang with his newfound struggle with faith. Ultimately, he is forced to make a choice: complete his revenge or take the path of sacrifice.

Overall, the movie is well-written and well-paced, although there are several different story-lines that don’t always line up perfectly. 2wo 3ree’s band of low-level gang bangers, while providing necessary comic relief, don’t really have much to do when given their limited screen time. The rival gang story-line ends very abruptly, like Popovic was trying to both get the catharsis of revenge while allowing Malik to have his hands clean in the whole matter. And the few moments when Popovic lets her “Christian Movie™” tendencies bleed through stand in sharp contrast to the otherwise smart writing. One scene with a priest stands out as noticeably bad, with said priest giving Fr. Janovich in Gran Torino a run for his money in the bad acting department.

However, the film truly does shine in certain moments, moments when Popovic trusts her audience to keep up with her written and visual subtext. Omar Epps is exceptionally good as Malik, portraying his spiritual crisis with grace and raw humanity. Popovic’s imagery is well-crafted and often quite beautiful, and her filmmaking choices seem to be made thoughtfully rather than haphazardly, a delightful contrast to the made-for-TV look many “Christian Movies™” have. As weird as the concept of a 50 Cent-produced Orthodox saint film may be, Moses the Black turned out to be quite beautiful and inspiring. Its good to see more apostolic Christians bringing film explicitly into line with faith, and I look forward to more interesting projects in this vein in the years to come.