Die Fremde (2000)

At the center of this film about a cocaine deal gone wrong is the encounter between Mercedes, a Mexican woman, and Harry, a taxi driver. Before they first met, they had never had anything to do with each other. Their only connection is that both seem to be fighting a hopeless battle against the fate laid out for them. When Mercedes arrives at Vienna Airport with her German boyfriend, Rainer, her luggage contains a kilo of 100-percent-pure cocaine. Mercedes and Rainer have managed to smuggle the drugs into Vienna to sell them there. The couple have also managed to outwit customs. A contact and buyer in Vienna was supposed to take the drugs off their hands. But shortly beforehand, several drug dealers were arrested in a raid, and the man fails to show up, so it seems likely that he is among those arrested too. Mercedes, who has no money, does not know what to do next and is stuck in Vienna for the time being. She had planned to return home with the money from selling the cocaine. She cannot expect any help from her boyfriend, who is completely consumed by his drug addiction. So the young woman decides to sell the cocaine on her own. When Mercedes gets into the car of Harry, an introverted taxi driver, in Schwechat, it marks the beginning of a great adventure for the lonely man. Since his divorce, Harry has lived a very withdrawn life in a residential estate on the outskirts of Vienna. For the penniless Mercedes, he becomes something of a rescuer in her time of need. He is immediately captivated by her exotic beauty, and the two soon strike up a conversation. Before long, Harry offers to put the young woman up at his place. He also wants to help her sell the drugs, promising to put her in touch with a major Vienna dealer. Although this brings him plenty of problems and difficulties, all at once he no longer finds his life boring and monotonous. He discovers that the drug mafia is not to be trifled with and that they fight ruthlessly. And yet he has no wish to return to his old life.