The Lives of Others

This multi-award winning movie is set in the German Democratic Republic in 1984, and big brother was certainly watching. A government minister has his eye on an actress, and orders her boyfried to be investigated, as a way of getting rid of him. So an agent is assigned to monitor what happens in their apartment, using bugging equipment. The agent, a dedicated man, eventually finds himself becoming involved in the romantic triangle, as the conversations he hears slowly awaken him to the fact that his job had brainwashed him. At the time of writing it comes in at number 69 on the IMDB's list of 250 top movies. In German language with English subtitles.