Gerd Wiesler, a Stasi officer, begins to suspect Georg Dreyman, a playwright, of being less than loyal to the East German government. Wiesler's surveillance of Dreyman and his partner Christa-Maria leads him to develop a sense of care for them, causing him to intervene in their lives in a positive way.

The Lives of Others
A stoic East Berlin secret police agent is torn between duty and desire as he becomes increasingly entangled in the captivating lives of a writer and his partner, whom he is tasked with surveilling amidst the backdrop of Cold War tensions.