"The Robbers" is a study on the figure of the social bandit or the rebellious outlaw. Such robbers and outlaws are not considered criminals by public opinion, but defenders of social justice, avengers or fighters of a primitive resistance, and their exploits have been glorified and preserved in history and myth.

Eric Hobsbawm, "indeed one of the greatest historians of our century" (The New Republic), describes the Balkan haiduks and Indian dacoits, the bandits of southern Italy and the bandoleros of traditional Andalusia, the Russian rasboiniki and the Chinese tongs, the Mexican and Peruvian outlaws, the robbers of travelers in pre-modern Europe and the desperados of the Wild West, the Australian bushrangers and the Brazilian cangaceiros, as well as the bank robbers who organize heists in support of a revolutionary cause. Some, like Robin Hood, Rob Roy, and Jesse James, are famous worldwide, while others became notorious only in their region. Some only bothered the local police, while others played a significant role in the history of their country, like Pancho Villa in Mexico.