Undercover detectives Kit Adrian and Jay Flowers have, as ex-cons, won the trust of immigrated Russian ex-communist crime lord Anton Seaberg. 

Captain Rick Sands gives them permission to go to extraordinarily lengths, even eliminate other criminals, because Anton stole enough plutonium from Chechenia to sell to terrorists. 

FBI agent Simi Aberts is captured while observing Anton, ignorant of the undercover operation. 

As if that weren't dangerous enough, Kit has an affair with Lena, Anton's trusted torturer-executioner Rolfe's daredevil wife.

I've always had a secret appreciation for Eric Roberts films. 

I think he's an underrated actor, able to do a good job if the script lets him. 

I also compliment him on being able to pick films that combine his macho action style with intriguing plots and relatively thorough (for the genre) characterization. 

"Stiletto Dance" is a good example. 

The story seems at first very simple, but nothing is as it appears. 

The plot continues to evolve in more complicated ways, but never loses the viewer. 

There's a romantic sub-plot that makes sense instead of just being an excuse for nudity. 

The main characters are filled out with motivations and nuances that make them interesting to watch. 

The film has a basic question to it: "How far can... and should... a police officer go to stop a crime or capture a criminal?" 

In my opinion, the best thing about the film is that it raises this old question in a very different manner, and leads one to a different conclusion than might have been expected.