Germany, 1989: The wall just came down, David Hasselhoff is singing at the Brandenburg Gate and all of Berlin is excited. At this time Veit (Friedrich Mücke) and his buddy Tom (Matthias Scheighöfer) plan a trip to America to find Veit’s biological dad who escaped to West Germany when he was 12. The only sign of his father is the yearly birthday card he receives from San Francisco. And that is exactly where they want to go. Speaking hardly any English and short of money, their first stop is New York City. On their trip to San Francisco dealing with crazy motorbike gangs, beautiful girls and exotic Russian lap dancers, their friendship is put to the test…

Nick Keller (Til Schweiger) is the black sheep of the family. He can't hold a job for more than a few days. His stepfather Heinrich (Michael Mendl) and his brother Viktor (Steffen Wink) call him a loser. Only his mother (Nadja Tiller) still believes in him. As he is fired from yet another job at a psychiatric ward, he prevents - at the very last second - the suicide of young Leila (Johanna Wokalek). When Nick returns home she secretly follows him and suddenly stands in his kitchen in the middle of the night in a nightgown and barefoot. Nick is at a loss: Leila refuses to return to the clinic. She has decided to stay with him… forever. Nick who has never assumed any responsibility in his life for anyone and Leila who grew up completely isolated from the outside world, leave together on a trip that will change their lives…

Three elderly ladies, Carla (Gudrun Okras), Lilli (Elisabeth Scherer) and Meta (Christel Peters), chat about their aches and pains and their fear of death's approach. Harmless stuff, at first glance, but the autumn of their lives is hardly a bed of roses. Carla can not pay the rent for her retirement home, Lilli is constantly harassed by her daughter and Meta's neurotic son is getting on her nerves. A wee dram is just the thing for putting the cares of the world behind you… Over the odd glass of liqueur they dream of a luxurious cruise financed by their card games. Just their luck to be mugged as they bring the takings to the bank. A shattered dream? No way, say the three graces, anything those young robbers can do, we can do better. They work out a perfect plan, persuade Meta's short-sighted neighbour to join them, and return to the bank with a blunderbuss…

Once again producer and director Til Schweiger has stuck his characters in situations as absurd as they are funny as they are exciting. After all what do the Pope, a suitcase full of baking powder, four not-so intelligent friends and the mafia-like trade in human organs got to do with one another? In AUF HERZ UND NIEREN they are the key elements of a macabre and grotesque story, one with plenty of heart and black humour, as Ricco (Steffen Wink), Sigi (Martin Glade), Dave (Niels-Bruno Schmidt) and Glotze (Thierry van Werveke) dream of hitting the big time. Instead they fall foul of a drug baron and sinister organ dealers. Their one chance to emerge intact is to play their opponents at their own game...

Four heroes, one story. Young Nico (Karina Krawczyk) has an important contract: she is supposed to drive non-stop with a live bomb in her car boot to the destination, park the car there and run for her life. Leo (Til Schweiger) has carried out a contract that had, unfortunately, long been cancelled and has now become the target of his clients. Fabian (Benno Fürmann) and Reza (Florian Lukas) want to have a great time without spending any money. Nico stops briefly to get some cigarettes. That comes at just the right time for Fabian and Reza: they nick Nico's car and race off into the night. Nico is helpless. She will not survive the night if the car does not reach its destination on time. When Nico and Leo meet at the world's ugliest place, the pub "Pauls Eck", neither of them knows that they have the same problem, nor that they are about to fall madly in love with one another. Nico is pursued by her accomplices because they think she is a traitor. Leo is being hunted by his clients and Fabian and Reza are lumbered with the police. All the strands come together in front of "Pauls Eck"…

Martin (Til Schweiger), an arrogant rebel type, and Rudi (Jan Josef Liefers), who's more cautious, both still in their 20's, both suffering from terminal cancer, get to know each other in a hospital room. While drowning their desperation in Tequila they impulsively flee in a stolen fancy sports car, and decide to take one last trip to the sea. The car turns out to be a flashy Mercedes that was supposed to be returned to a mobster by two of his goons (Moritz Bleibtreu und Thierry van Werveke) who immediately start to chase it. The one million dollars hidden in the car’s trunk are discovered by the car thieves only midway on their journey to the sea, after having already committed some robberies. The movie is one long comic chase in which Martin and Rudi find themselves simultaneously pursued by the goons, the police and, in a series of clever feints, are successfully avoiding being captured. The mistaken police assumption that Martin is holding Rudi hostage works in their favor...