chris weitz is the director behind blockbusters like "american pie" and "new moon."er life." set in los angeles it's the story of an undocumented worker struggling to raise his son. russ mitchell is in l.a., the center of latino culture. >> cesar chavez, this is the main artery of east l.a. one of the most active and vibrant streets in all of los angeles. >> reporter: it's no accident that director chris weitz chose these streets for his film "a better life." tens of thousands of imgrants now call this area home. >> this country is a land of dreams. it can be a hard place. a cool place. >> reporter: in the film, a mexican gardener lives quietly and illegally in los angeles, until his truck is stolen. carrying away his dream of a brighter future for his son. >> i don't know what's going to happen to us. >> it's based on a true story. one of our producers had a friend whose gardener had his truck stolen. the friend said, we've got to go to the police, and the gardener said, you don't understand, i can't go to the police. >> if you're looking down to santiago -- >> repo