Mike Nichols, director of two of the greatest film classics of all time - "The Graduate" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" - does not make films as often as he used to, which is too bad, for when he does, he concentrates on good acting and good storylines, without resorting to any of the current gimmicks that have been dubbed "MTV filmmaking".

This is the case with "Charlie Wilson's War", a new film based on George Crile's book and adapted by Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the play "A Few Good Men" and created the hit television series "The West Wing".

The film teams Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, a powerhouse screen couple if ever there was one, for the first time. Hanks plays Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson, a friendly but womanizing, hard-drinking fellow who seems to hardly be anybody's idea of a serious politician. We first see him soaking in a hot tub with various lovelies at a party, where he also happens to be snorting cocaine and clinching what could be a corrupt business deal, when his eye is caught by a television news report featuring Dan Rather, who at that time (the early 1980's), was the anchorman of the "CBS Evening News". Rather is reporting a story concerning the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, and Wilson seems to be unusually interested.

As mentioned before, Wilson is not your usual politician. He has surrounded himself in his office with several beautiful women, all of whom are on his staff, and his loyal personal assistant, Bonnie Bach (played by Amy Adams, star of the recent family film "Enchanted") is equally attractive, if much less slutty than Wilson's other secretaries. She also happens to idolize her boss.

At this point, Wilson is contacted by beautiful Houston socialite and part-time lover Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a rabid anti-Communist who is deeply into political causes. She practically orders Wilson to aid her in what she considers a brilliant scheme, covertly sending aid to the Afghanistans so that they can defeat the Russians, something that, it seems, the U.S. government has no interest in doing. But Wilson, being strongly anti-Communist himself, IS interested, and he promptly sets about sizing up the situation and enlisting help, at the same time trying to avoid a potential scandal when his use of cocaine hits the newspapers. His best ally, in addition to Joanne Herring, is CIA operative Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman in a hilariously foul-tempered performance that practically steals the film away from his co-stars).

However, making all the arrangements is not as simple as it sounds, and Wilson has to resort to some truly unusual deal-making which includes brown-nosing some political hotshots in highly unorthodox ways (such as hiring a belly dancer to entertain one).

As is obvious, much of this film has a strong feeling of comedy and even farce about it, although there is a sobering instance in which Wilson and his assistant Bonnie go to Afghanistan to acquaint themselves firsthand with how things are going there, and are shocked to see the violence, cruelty, and devastation that are a part of daily life in the region.

The film is one of the most notable end-of-the-year releases, with fine performances, sharp, witty dialogue, excellent direction and photography, and, for my money, it is a far better motion picture than the overrated "No Country for Old Men". Director Nichols lets his tale unfold quickly, but nevertheless, in the straightforward, old-fashioned style of moviemaking, unhindered by any cinematic cleverness. The final scenes are devastating, and what makes them so is the moment when Hanks, as Wilson, realizes that, as he himself put it, the U.S. has "fu**ed up the end game" in their quest to aid Afghanistan due to indifference, after what appeared to be a triumphant conclusion to the struggle. Reportedly, the filmmakers originally intended for there to be a direct reference to September 11 (the triumph of the Muhajadeen, the forces that the U.S. helped, led directly, if unintentionally, to the rise of the Taliban). However, all reference to the devastating 2001 attack was ultimately edited out, after the real-life Charles Wilson and Joanne Herring, who are both still alive, strongly objected that the final scenes made them look as if they had helped to bring about 9/11.

This film looks to already be a success; it has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and is making money, although, true to form for today's audiences, it has still not reached the number one spot at the box office. It should have by now.

Whatever your political sympathies are, "Charlie Wilson's War" is a highly interesting, entertaining film well worth seeing.