Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes: director Mikkel Nørgaard creates an efficient and moody investigation thriller; the story is far from novel, but it is sinister enough. It also sports an interesting (even if also not particularly original) protagonist, a dogged detective with good reasons to make things right; his sidekick, as a man with no other place to be, could be better defined. They are well-defended by, respectively, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Fares Fares; theirs are not showy performances, but certainly convincing ones, for the material. Sonja Richter, as the victim, projects the proper despair, and Peter Plaugborg has a great villain face. The general mood is greatly enhanced by the musical score and the dark, somber images conjured by cinematographer Eric Kress.