Usnavi remembers his childhood in the Dominican Republic as the best time of his life. For him, that island represents roots, origins, identity — everything that Washington Heights is for Nina. He dreams of finding himself by returning to his father's homeland. She is expected to reinvent herself in a place that Kevin, who never finished high school, can scarcely imagine. There may be no place like home, but in America home is almost never just one place. Miranda and Hudes made "In the Heights" long before "Hamilton," but in some ways the movie version, arriving in the wake of the "Hamilton" juggernaut, works as a sequel. Like Alexander Hamilton, Usnavi is an orphan and an immigrant. His neighborhood bears the name of Hamilton's commander in chief. And its residents plant their flags — Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Mexican and more — in the land of the $10 bill. The city may be a paradise where "the streets are made of music," but it's also a purgatory of cold winters, deep-rooted bigotry and bureaucratic cruelty. These complications are both the film's scaffolding and its subject. Miranda is, at heart, a political romantic and a romantic optimist. Some viewers may wish for sharper-edged explorations of issues like gentrification and immigration policy, and maybe also a critical perspective on family, sexuality and gender. But if Miranda is, in some ways, a revolutionary artist, he is anything but a radical. He believes in the redemptive promise and democratic potential of popular culture — meaning not only commercially packaged music, movies and dance but also streetwear styles, block parties and home-cooked meals — and in the supreme power of love. Accordingly, "In the Heights" organizes its busy plot around parallel love stories. Usnavi is smitten with Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), whose dream is to move downtown to pursue a career in fashion. (She works in the salon owned by Daniela, who is played by the great Daphne Rubin-Vega.) Nina, meanwhile, is still sweet on Benny (Corey Hawkins), her ex-boyfriend and Kevin's trusted dispatcher. As the weather gets hotter and a blackout approaches, the two couples sing their way through longing, lust, disappointment and bliss — not always in that order but with an ardent sincerity capable of melting the iciest heart. Like Usnavi, the movie — bristling with ideas, verbal wit and musical invention — wears its heart on its sleeve. It also reflects his virtues: generosity, decency, hard work, pride.