The firm - Jocelyn Bain Hogg

This volume draws back the curtains on London's East End gangsters - the larger-than-life proper villains who inspired blockbusters such as "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch". From their nightclubs and stripjoints, to their boardrooms and bathrooms, these portraits of the underworld reflect the masonry of London's East End, where members are elected for their very particular prowess and skills.;Old-fashioned rules apply: friends and family first, no swearing in front of the ladies, and, above all, never grass. But things are changing for the British gangster. Ex-KGB mafiosi are taking over areas such as prostitution, gambling and drugs; the surviving Kray confederates are writing their memoirs and making personal appearances at film premieres. These photographs seek to capture every facet of the life of the modern villain: from public appearances to mysterious "disappearances"; from members-only bare-knuckle fights to the astonishingly popular appeal of a Kray family funeral.