How do you trigger off a revolution? “Checkmate” reveals how an d why the United States was involved in the Romanian Revolution. When Ceausescu refused to accept the reforms sweeping Eastern Europe in 1989, the ruthless Romanian dictator rushed headlong into his own destruction. As the last of the hard-liners in the Warsaw Pact, only Ceausescu stood in the way of Europe’s reunification…. Upon the backdrop of one of the most exciting episodes of history, an intricate web of international political strategies is unfolded. The Romanian revolution of 1989 seemed spontaneous. But, as this investigative documentary proves, history is not that simple. In actual fact, the Romanian revolution was a strictly managed operation, controlled from the outside. Hungary, Germany and especially the USA had big fingers in the pie. The tactics used ranged from anti-Ceausescu propaganda to the organized training of civilians as armed revolutionaries. The stakes in this geo-political game were much higher than just the well-being of the Romanian people. Ceausescu had to go because he thwarted the unity of Europe and the definitive collapse of the communist Bloc. His disappearance was necessary to pave the way for a ´new world order´. In this highly convincing work, filmmaker Susanne Brandstätter clarifies the larger issues on the political world stage, but also proves that revolutions, no matter how well prepared, never take place without innocent victims. A painful conclusion.