Syriana

I liked how Gaghan was able to weave seemingly unrelated characters threads in this film, which depicts how powerful forces like the oil industry, political factions of different countries, intelligence agencies, and terrorists converge, to show that even in ever-changing political/economic climates, the resultant mixture in flux may seem like oil and water, but it still provides economic and political benefit to the players, but not without getting their hands dirty or producing undesirable by-products.

It's a very subdued film, not much background music to intrude on the events as they unfold, and while it seems calm on the surface of things, it's constantly boiling underneath the calm facade.

I give it 3.5 stars, or a grade of B+.