Election 2 (literal title: Black Society: Harmony is a Virtue), also known as Triad Election in the United States, is a 2006 Category III Hong Kong crime film directed by Johnnie To with a large ensemble cast including Louis Koo, Simon Yam and Nick Cheung.
He faces competition from Jimmy, who wants to retire from the triad to be a legitimate businessman, but gets drawn into the conflict surrounding the election.
Election 2 enjoyed box office success in Hong Kong and being shown as an "Official Selection" at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
"[2] Lok, who was elected chairman of the Hong Kong triad Wo Lin Shing for two years during the first film, contemplates breaking tradition by seeking re-election for an unprecedented second term.
The triad elders view Jimmy as a good potential chairman as he has become a successful businessman, but Jimmy refuses to run because he is trying to change his business activity in Mainland China from illegitimate to legitimate, and as such he is leery of letting triad activities affect his business.
With neither backing down, physical conflict nearly arises, but witnesses arrive at the scene, and the two agree to take down Jimmy first.
Meanwhile, Lok's actual son has grown distant from him, performing badly in school and associating with gangs.
Xi passes Jimmy the Dragonhead Baton, which the Mainland police seized from Lok's underling.
Xi indicates that the good relationship between the triad and the Mainland police is contingent on Jimmy serving as chairman until he can pass on leadership to his future children, as the Mainland police do not want an uncontrollable and unstable triad leader like Lok, whereas Jimmy would help maintain peace in the country.
Election 2 was also shown in "Out of Competition" (midnight screenings) section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival,[4] where the movie was very well received by international critics.
[5] Despite receiving very little promotion, in the United States, the film still had the highest per-screen average box office on the weekend it opened.