From here, the movie weaves a tale that is as much about trust as it is about anything else. The paranoia runs very deep here — not just in the cloak and dagger sense, but in the personal relationships involved as well. Why doesn't O'Neill trust his wife? And how does O'Neill gain the trust of Hanssen — a boss who by this time is begrudgingly growing to like him even as he tests his loyalty pretty much every second of the way?

The one thing that bugged me throughout this movie was the way it failed to reveal the motivations behind Hanssen's apparent treachery toward America in selling out his country to the very "godless" Russians he seems to be so dead set against. The clues offered for this elusive motive throughout the movie are mostly subtle ones. It was never about money it seems — but more about ego. Until he is caught, Hanssen covers his tracks in the same meticulous way that the most clinical serial killer does.

And although I loved this movie, the way it finally paid off by answering that question was a classic case of a cheap Hollywood cop out. Hanssen looks as fiendishly deranged as Hannibal Lechter as he asks O'Neill to "pray for me" in the film's final scene.

Still, as a tightly woven reality based psychological thriller, Breach succeeds on every level in holding you by the edge of your seat throughout it's just under two hour running time. Extras on the DVD include deleted scenes and a profile of the Hanssen case that originally ran on NBC's news magazine Dateline.

Breach will be available this Tuesday in video stores.