查理(汤姆•汉克斯 Tom Hanks 饰)被美国国防部授予了反战间谍英雄的称号,因为他跟其他的谍报人员——乔安妮(朱莉娅•罗伯茨 Julia Roberts 饰)与盖斯特(菲利普•塞默•霍夫曼 Philip Seymour Hoffman 饰)一起为前苏联的解体、柏林墙的倒塌都做出了重要贡献。查理具有光鲜身份,他身兼国防部、政府、CIA等多方角色,终日周旋于商界政要之间,美色金钱纷至沓来,谁都希望借助他的能量满足一己私利。他关注阿富汗战争的局势,并且跟巴基斯坦的军方也通了气。其实,他所做的都是为了美国的利益,在红颜知己乔安妮与性格伙伴盖斯特的帮助下,他们导演了这场充满了传奇色彩的间谍战争……In the early 1980s, Charlie Wilson is a womanizing US congressional representative from Texas who seemed to be in the minor leagues, except for the fact that he is a member of two major foreign policy and covert-ops committees. However, prodded by his major conservative supporter, Houston Socialite Joanne Herring, Wilson learns about the plight the people are suffering in the brutal Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. With the help of the maverick CIA agent, Gustav "Gust" Avrakotos, Wilson dedicates his canny political efforts to supply the Afghan mujahideen with the weapons and support to defeat the Soviet Union. However, Charlie Wilson eventually learns that while military victory can be had, there are other consequences and prices to that fight that are ignored to everyone's sorrow.