"State of Play" operates on two levels. The primary level is a solid Washington political thriller. The second one is an almost elegiac appreciation of daily newspapers and an awareness of the forces that threaten their existence.

Russell Crowe plays Cal McAffrey, a veteran reporter for the fictitious Washington Globe. Cal is a disheveled newsroom institution with a healthy ego; he's almost editor-proof, a state of grace few reporters achieve.

Ben Affleck plays congressman Stephen Collins, a charismatic young politician who happens to be Cal's old college roommate. Congressman Collins is a rising Beltway star, and he's chairing a committee investigating a military contractor supplying mercenary troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. Robin Wright Penn plays Anne, the congressman's wife, and she and Cal also share some history.

While working on a double-murder story in his cluttered cubicle, Cal is approached by Della Frye, played by Rachel McAdams. She's one of the paper's bloggers who's hunting for some inside skinny on the congressman. In Cal's eyes, she's part of the problem afflicting old-school journalism.

Meanwhile, the congressman's head researcher is killed in an apparent subway-platform accident, and it's revealed that she and her boss were having an affair.

Director Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland") and a team of writers weave a complex web of intrigue while creating a portrait of ace reporter Cal. At first Cal wants to run interference for his old buddy, but then his reporter's instincts take over and he finds himself drawn to the story despite the conflicts of interest involved. He also insists on working with Della against the executive editor's wishes. She's played by Helen Mirren, fine as always, and she articulates a lot of the problems newspapers face today.

Armed with evidence tying an apparently unrelated series of events together, Cal and Della embark on a collaborative investigation that has a "His Girl Friday" feel, only more serious.

Performances are good across the board with Crowe anchoring the movie with his bulldog personality and his inexorable determination to get at the truth. McAdams is appealing as the blogger who morphs into a reporter. Affleck is believable and Penn is better, though she doesn't have as much screen time. Mirren gives the proceedings an engrossing combination of pragmatism and journalistic dedication.

"State of Play" may be well-executed, grown-up escapism, but it also acknowledges some topical issues such as war profiteering and the abuse of constitutional freedoms.