Washington think-tanks use the term “Syriana” to describe the theoretical reformation of the Middle East. In the upcoming political thriller appropriately titled Syriana, the word depicts this land as the capitalist visions to establish a United States-controlled, oil-filled gold mine, created in the image of America.

Starring George Clooney and Matt Damon, this heart-pumping, controversial film explores themes of government corruption, conspiracy and control. The story spins viewers through the intricate web of four storylines, whose characters’ lives are interwoven by the world’s most desired and demanded resource; oil.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Good Night, and Good Luck) and written by Stephen Gaghan (Traffic), Syriana is based on former CIA agent Robert Baer’s book of memoirs called See No Evil. The novel chronicles Baer’s 20-plus years of experience as a case officer in the Middle East, where he discovered the inner-workings to the world’s vicious oil addiction.

“I started thinking more about the ways we sell ourselves, those little compromises,” said Gaghan on a Syriana conference call. “You might call it corruption, but corruption is a big, broad word. The way I think of it is like a little, tiny, totally local, personal, moral collapse.”

In the film, each character struggles with morality in their own way. Whether it be an agent questioning his boss, a father forgetting his family or a lawyer neglecting the truth, the film explores the collaboration of business and truth, which results in utter chaos.

In his role, Clooney is hardly recognizable behind the additional 35 pounds and full grown beard he adapted in order to play CIA agent, Bob Barnes’. With this character, he delivers an inside look at the fraudulent, deal-making/deal-breaking that goes on behind the scenes of America’s political world. As a veteran agent in his field, Barnes trusts the motives of the orders for his mission until he is gagged and tortured by the other side and exposed by his own colleagues.

Energy-analyst Bryan Woodman (Damon), works at a Swiss trading company and offers a view into the vortex that greed spins around its victims. His story involves the heirs of Gulf royalty, who determine the future of the American oil industry by their power over natural gas drilling rights. While on a business vacation with the family, Woodman and his wife Julie (Amanda Peet) tragically lose their son under the royalty’s roof, allowing Woodman to sickly seek millions in repercussions for not only his family, but for his company.

These stories continue to weave as this deal sweeps back to the U.S., where Washington, D.C., attorney, Bennett Holiday (Jeffrey Wright) is in charge of overseeing the messy merger between two oil companies. As he sifts through the shady paperwork, Holiday must justify whether the law should jeopardize the deal, and if he will compromise his morals for the country’s profit. Bennett’s boss, a powerful political mogul, plans to thwart the good-intentioned Gulf heir and supplement the position with the politically corrupt brother, who will benefit from American oil plans.

Syriana also offers an introspective look at the lives of foreign workers who mobilize the industry, and the unfortunate conditions in which they suffer. Through the story of a boy and his father, viewers are able to understand that the leaders of these foreign countries contain a corruptive drive, which the U.S. overlooks for the gain of our economic system.

While the film does not deliver a partisan message, it offers a reflective and inquisitive investigation for further thought into this issue. Although the U.S. is currently at war and is still adjusting to post-9/11 changes, some people maintain the feeling that these issues are far from their own homes. However, Syriana drives these problems to viewers’ front doors and propels the realization that these predicaments affect each and every one of us.

“I don’t separate my government from myself,” Gaghan said. “I think it’s really personal. When I go abroad and travel, I think about how I am representing my country. And when my government makes statements, it makes me think, ‘how are they representing me?’ I really aspired (to write Syriana) from that emotion.”

As gas prices steadily climb and U.S. citizens cope with their changing country, the movie will continue to resonate with oil-policy inquiries throughout the cinematic world. Thankfully, the film declines to illicit biased controversy. But without a doubt, Syriana asks provocative, probing questions about the government, its politics and the oil-hungry appetites that may one day consume us all.