First-time filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck looks to recent German history for this gripping tale of what happens when an observer teeters over the line into participation. The time is just before the fall of the Berlin Wall when the Stasi still ruled, its business knowing as much as it could about East Germans. At the story`s core are loyal Stasi officer Wiesler and the possibly subversive playwright he`s investigating, Dreyman. Wiesler can`t believe Dreyman is the model socialist he claims to be and begins an investigation into his life. Not finding anything to indicate dissent, his attention is drawn to Dreyman`s lover Christa-Maria, and his superior`s growing affection for her. Soon, for the first time in his career, he finds himself caught in a moral and ethical quagmire. [Lives of Others] is a complex film that never strays into political thriller cliche and manages to resonate with modern audiences.