Excellent review, Ferris. I don't exactly "love" this movie, but it is certainly one of the best of the last decade. And you don't have to look, I do have it on my top 100.
The main thing I got out of the movie wasn't so much the ability to replace one leader for another (I think the Wire did that more clearly), but the participation of children in the cycle of violence. Most of the participants of wars in Africa are teenagers. And the fact that all the violent acts are done by children I just couldn't shake. It felt like a slap in the face each time I saw a child firing a gun.
But I also loved the human element of the story. It isn't just about child gangs, but about Rocket trying to find love and it is also a "coming of age" story in a radical circumstance, like a really intense Stand By Me.