Donovan James is a successful Brooklyn lawyer. He has won many high-profile and controversial cases. In general, his career is going uphill.… The time of action in the film is the beginning of the sixties of the last century. An acute conflict is brewing between the two superpowers of the United States and the USSR, and then the conflict enters the stage of war, albeit a cold one. Each power demonstrates its military might and threatens the other with various big and small troubles. Sabotage and reconnaissance operations are underway on each side. Each side is trying to prevent intelligence operations in its own way. Rudolf Abel, an illegal Soviet intelligence officer, was discovered and arrested in the United States, and the U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Powers was shot down in the USSR, who was not injured in the crash and was captured.
Meanwhile, a banquet is taking place at the White House, to which Donovan James was invited. He is very proud and glad that he was invited to such an event. At this reception, an offer was made to him, which he could not refuse. The CIA invited James to go to the Soviet Union to defend Pilot Powers at the trial. James is forced to comply. Now not only the fate of the pilot depends on him, but also the fate of two states. One wrong move by James and the Cold War could escalate into a real bloodbath. During their work, James and Powers became very close friends, which is movingly shown in the film. And the result of James' work was presented on the so-called Spy bridge, the Glinik Bridge connecting Berlin and Potsdam, where representatives of the two countries exchanged prisoners. Pilot Francis Powers was exchanged for Rudolf Abel.
The picture is based on real events and all the characters have real prototypes.
The film is directed by Steven Spielberg himself. His name alone suggests that the picture will be exciting and intense, highly expertly shot and well thought out. That's the way it is. Everything is at the highest level, cinematography, editing, music, acting ensemble, views and landscapes, scenery. There are no complaints about the dialogue or the plot as a whole. Although from the point of view of historical authenticity of what is happening, one can argue.
A separate point worth noting is the amazing performance of Tom Hanks, who played the main role here. Tom, as always, is great and handled his role one hundred percent.
I recommend the film to all fans of spy movies, as well as those who like psychologically heavy dramas. Of course, fans of Spielberg and Hanks will appreciate the picture. And of course, it's worth watching the movie just to admire once again how Americans imagine Soviet reality.