In 'magic' it's all about the third act! The Prestige.

Rating: Null/10 (15 March 2007)

"The third stage is sometimes called the effect, or the prestige, and this is the product of magic." (Christopher Priest) That is the derivation of the movie's title. The whole plot involves two magicians who are competing ever since they were magician helpers together. Their jealousy and desire to learn of each others' best magic tricks provide the tension in the story.
Hugh Jackman is Robert Angier, eventually the lesser of the two, and who spends much of the movie time trying to avenge a death. Christian Bale as Alfred (Freddy) Borden is the better of the two, always seeming to one-up Angier. Michael Caine is Cutter who designs the illusions and equipment, and is ready backstage with an ax in case the escape from the water tank is not made on time.
Scarlett Johansson (with British accent) as Olivia Wenscombe becomes the 4th member of the circle. She at first assists Angier, but he sends her to get a job with Borden, to learn the secret to his "transported man" trick.
An interesting casting is David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, a real historical scientist who experimented with electricity. Many recognize his name for the "Tesla coil." I didn't recognize Bowie during the movie.
We found it a very interesting 2 hours. All the cast members are good and the twists and turns held our attention.
SPOILERS. Early when Angier and Borden are working together, and Angier's young wife is part of the act, she drowns after being dropped into the water tank because she cannot get out of the wrist knot that Borden tied, and thus could not reach around and unlock the trick lock. Angier never forgives Borden, and much later a trial found Borden guilty of killing someone else and sentenced to a hanging. Eventually Angier develops a transported man illusion, using a very close double they find, on one side of the stage Angier opens a door to conceal his dropping below the stage, while behind the door on the other side of the stage the double surfaces from beneath. Trouble with the double (doubt planted by Borden in a pub) cut that act short. Meanwhile Borden was doing his amazing trick and only at the end, while Angier is dying, do we learn that there were 2 Bordens, identical twins. One was loyal to his wife, the other was in love with Olivia. There was no cheating.
Within that story, was a highly fictional one where Angier paid Tesla to develop an electrical device which "transported" him by actually creating an exact double of himself, which of course he had to drown each performance to hide the fact. He framed Borden with one of those drownings.