What separates Sin Nombre from other films is the same quality that prevents the film from becoming great: the use of symbolism. The film is replete with metaphors. Twin storylines which become intertwined when Hondurans attempting to illegally immigrate to the United States become entangled with members of a Mexican crime family. The refugees travel by train through Mexico, surreptiously dodging deportation by the border police as they move northwards. Some Mexicans welcome them and provide assistance, tossing fruits to the migrants; others curse them and throw stones. A family – a father, his brother, and his daughter – strive …