The best way not to feel slightly cheated about not learning more about the national catastrophe that serves as the film's backdrop is to focus on the last scene, which I interpreted as a comment on America's commitment to media and superficiality. The script dropped Easter eggs of commentary of real life current events as in when George outlined the simple 3 step process on bringing down an entire country. I hadn't felt this paranoid since the movie "Arlington Road". The cast is excellent and deserve high praise for filling in their characters. It's a bummer of a movie but unlike some other reviewers here, I think this movie is one I'll remember as our own country steps into unknown territory.