"Les brigands" has a more substantial plot than many Offenbach operettas and integrates the songs more completely into the story. The forces of law and order are represented by the bumbling carabinieri, whose exaggerated attire delighted the Parisian audience during the premiere. In addition to policemen, financiers receive satiric treatment. The satire counterpoints lively musical romps and the frequent use of Italian and Spanish rhythms; "Soyez pitoyables" is a true canon, and each act finale is a well-developed whole. A 1983 "New York Times" article theorized that the music of the piece influenced Bizet in writing "Carmen" and noted that the librettists for this work supplied Bizet's libretto, but standard Offenbach references do not mention any such influence.