At first glance it seems that Syriana is just good old oil; but in actuality, the real story is a multi-layered tale driven by various personal, professional, and financial motivations. Bob Barnes (George) is a company man who has worked as a CIA operative in Beirut and elsewhere rubbing elbows with the good and bad guys. He thinks that he is a player in the game to make the world better, but eventually discovers that he has been a pawn from the start and has done very little beyond putting his own life in danger. Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey) is determined to seal a big deal between a U.S. oil conglomerate and Iranian officials in connection with sleazy businessmen Jimmy Pope (Chris) and Tommy Barton (Robert). This calls his morals into question and adds to the frustration of consistently finding his drunken father waiting on his doorstep at home in Washington, D.C. Bryan Woodman (Matt), a sharp energy analyst, is willing to sacrifice the sanctity of his family to be the right-hand man of Prince Nasir (Alexander), who is in competition with his brother Emir (Nadim) to become heir to his father’s throne. And Wasim (Mazhar), a disillusioned Pakistani teenager, falls into the hands of a manipulative fanatic who uses religion as tool to prey on others.

Greed, love, ignorance, religion, tragedy and power all play roles in the lives of these characters. So much happens in this movie and no main character is completely innocent, which makes the movie more interesting. Additionally, everything is so intertwined that there seems no logical way to identify the possibly humble, nearly sincere beginnings that have now turned into a twisted web of the rich getting richer and the poor and loyal dying, still poor and also betrayed. Sound familiar? Without knowing the ins and outs of the oil business, one can still enjoy Syriana. We all have opinions and who hasn’t been party to a conversation where oil is stated as the real reason that the U.S. is involved in conflicts elsewhere in the world?