De Niro is Neil McCauley, a master thief. In fact, master thief hardly does this character justice. He is the best there is. He is professional, well disciplined and meticulous in every detail. The movie opens with an armored car robbery that looks more like a military operation than a stick up.
Nothing is left to chance and each move is timed to the second.
Hot on the trail of the master thieves is the master detective, Vincent Hanna. Vince is every bit as much a professional in catching robbery crews as Neil is in forming them. Both men operate in their own circles yet they are draw together as inevitable adversaries. Vincent's life is basically circling the drain. He is on his third marriage to a wife that resents his constant devotion to his job.