Un prophète a 2009 French prison drama

Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), nineteen years old, French of Algerian descent, is sentenced to six years in prison for attacking police officers. Alone and illiterate upon his arrival, he falls under the sway of Corsican mobsters, led by Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), who enforces a brutal rule.
The prison is divided between two main factions: the Corsicans and the Muslims. Malik keeps to himself. When Luciani forces him to be the unwilling assassin of Reyeb, a Muslim witness, Malik gains the protection of the Corsicans in spite of his origin. Malik serves as a low-level servant to the Corsicans, who treat him with disdain. All the while, he is haunted by visions of the murdered Reyeb. When the bulk of the Corsicans are transferred or released, Luciani is forced to give Malik more responsibility. Having secretly learned Corsican, Malik acts as Luciani's eyes and ears in the prison. When Malik earns the privilege of day-long furloughs outside the prison, Luciani relies on him to conduct his business outside. Ryad, a Muslim friend, teaches Malik to read and write, and the two become close. Ryad exposes Malik to his own heritage, allowing him to meet two other Muslims, Tarik and Hassan, increasing his power within the prison. Malik also becomes involved with a prison drug dealer, Jordi. When Ryad gains an early release due to his testicular cancer, the three partners organize a drug-running enterprise. But when Ryad is kidnapped by the drug dealer Latif, Malik tracks down Latif's partner inside the prison, kidnaps his family, and forces Latif's gang to release Ryad. When Luciani discovers that Malik is using his furloughs for his own personal enterprise, he attacks him. Malik is sent to meet Brahim Lattrache in Marseille, another Muslim, who is involved in a deal between Luciani and the Lingherris, an Italian mafia group.

Lattrache is bitter toward the Corsicans for the murder of Reyeb and holds Malik at gunpoint. When Malik spots a deer warning sign, he remembers a recent dream of deer running in the road. He tells his kidnappers that they are in danger of hitting a deer, which they promptly do. Lattrache is impressed by Malik, calling him a prophet and agreeing to do business with him instead of Luciani, even though Malik has admitted that he killed Reyeb.Luciani believes there is a mole in his organization and decides to use Malik to assassinate Jacky Marcaggi, the Don of the Corsican mafia, for secretly dealing with the Lingherris. But Malik and Ryad have their own plan for Marcaggi: they kill his bodyguards and dump him in a van with his enemy Vettori, Luciani's henchman. Malik takes refuge at Ryad's house with his wife and young son. Ryad's cancer has returned; his decision against more chemotherapy leaves him just six months and he gets Malik's promise to take care of his family when he's gone.Upon Malik's return to the prison, he joins the Muslim faction of the yard. When Luciani tries to approach him, two Muslims intercept and beat him.On the day of his release, Malik is met by Ryad's wife and son outside the prison. They walk off together, followed by a vehicle convoy carrying Malik's new associates.