a man flicks a cigarrette and hits another man in the eye

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

The time: the 1920s. The place: New York City. The Lower East Side, on the southeast corner of Manhattan Island, is home to a great many Jewish immigrants who came to the United States, beginning in the late 19th century, from a Russia ravaged by political turmoil and an eastern Europe where they had experienced tremendous poverty. Despite the American dream that anyone can achieve success, for the Jewish immigrants in the Lower East Side this dream is difficult to make a reality. David “Noodles” Aaronson is born into this Jewish enclave, and from a very young age gets his hands dirty in the seedy underbelly of society. Along with his trusted companions Max, Cockeye, Patsy, and Dominic, Noodles lays down roots in the criminal underworld...

A group of friends are having a smoke when one of them spots a guy looking for a light.

Some guys come up to another guy to ask for a cig. Soon the situation becomes threatening.