Plot

As Germany expands its borders, scorching Europe from end to end, two brave Czechs of the Resistance prepare to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, the mastermind behind the hideous "Final Solution" to the "Jewish Question".

1942: The Third Reich is at its peak. The Czech resistance in London decides to plan the most ambitious military operation of World War II: Anthropoid. Two young recruits in their late twenties, Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, are sent to Prague to assassinate the most ruthless Nazi leader - Reich-protector Reinhard Heydrich, head of the SS and the Gestapo in Czechoslovakia, and the architect of the "Final Solution".—The Producer

From a disgraced officer of the German Navy dismissed for indecent behavior, the ambitious Reinhard Heydrich, who crosses paths with Lina, a zealous member of the Nazi Party and his future wife, sees himself rising through the ranks as chief of the Main Security Office of the Reich. As the German Fascists expand their borders, scorching Europe from end to end, one brave Slovak and one brave Czech, the newly-enlisted soldiers of the Resistance, Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, prepare for a suicide mission to assassinate Heydrich, Bohemia and Moravia's Reich-protector. Can they take down the powerful man with the iron heart?—Nick Riganas

1942: The Third Reich is at its peak. The Czech resistance in London decides to plan the most ambitious military operation of WWII: Anthropoid. Two young recruits in their late twenties, Jozef Gabcik (Jack Reynor) and Jan Kubis (Jack O'Connell), are sent to Prague to assassinate the most ruthless Nazi leader - Reich-protector Reinhard Heydrich (Jason Clarke), Head of the SS, the Gestapo, and the architect of the "Final Solution".

In a flashback, Reinhard is an aggressive German & loves to compete and win at everything. He serves at the Kiel naval base in Germany in 1929. His meets Lina (Rosamund Pike) at an official ball for the officers of the armed forces. As they develop feelings for each other, Lina reveals to Reinhard that she is a Nazi. Lina feels sad that Germany has become very weak and believes that the nation needs strong leadership to regain its status on the world stage. She then proceeds to have sex with him.

Reinhard is a womanizer and one of his past "conquests" turns out to be connected to an Admiral in the Nazi Navy. When Reinhard refuses to honor his commitments to her, she gets the Navy to Court Martial him. He is dismissed from service. Reinhard demonstrates episodes of psychotic rage as he destroys his room at the Naval academy before leaving. Lina asks Reinhard to compose himself.

Reinhard marries Lina and follows her in joining the Nazi Party and idolizing Adolf Hitler. Lina gets Reinhard an appointment with Heinrich Himmler (Stephen Graham), an influential member of the Nazi party at the time. The meeting took place on Himmler's farm. Reinhard tells Himmler that he is not making any money on the farm as he has 7 sheds and 60 chickens in each. But the farm fence is riddles with holes and subject to fox attacks. Himmler's farm hand is overweight. Reinhard says that in 6 months he can deliver a 10-fold increase in profit from the farm.

Reinhard is appointed head of SS counter-intelligence, working with Heinrich Muller to fight Communists in Weimar Germany. Muller (Geoff Bell) is appointed Reinhard's 2nd in command and together they eradicate the communist party from Germany. In time, Reinhard and Lina have a son together.

Himmler is impressed with Reinhard's attention to detail. In a few years, Hitler becomes the chancellor of Germany. After Hitler is appointed Chancellor, Himmler appoints him as the head of SS (to spy on Nazi political enemies).

Reinhard's torture machine goes in overdrive once Hitler is in power to implement his idea of purity of the Aryan race. All men in power, opposed to Hitler's grand plans are systematically and ruthlessly eliminated. Hitler gives him the title "The Man with the Iron Heart". As Reinhard rises in Nazi party, his connection with his family reduces.

After the German Invasion of Poland and World War II breaks out in 1939, Heydrich is promoted to Chief of the Reich Security Main Office. His Einsatzgruppen mobile death squads follow the German Army, committing genocide across Eastern Europe. Villages upon villages are eradicated and all aliens, sick and hostiles are shot dead or burned alive. Lina can only watch as she witnesses the transformation of Reinhard into a monster.

Reinhard blackmails General Eduard Wagner (David Rintoul) into sending the Einzsatzgruppen (paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder) information to allow them to exterminate Hebrews and other Untermenschen (a person considered racially or socially inferior). Reinhard had documented evidence of Wagner having sex with prostitutes and uses that to ensure Wagner's compliance. Wagner knows that he will be subjected to a Court Martial. Wager agrees but stipulates that the SS will conduct the ethnic cleansing after Wagner's regular army has left the area. Reinhard digs mass graves all over Poland, and the victims are shot next to the graves, so they fall directly into them.

In September 1941, Heydrich is appointed Acting Reich Protector of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, declaring that he will turn Prague into a "Hebrew-free" city. Reinhard is put in charge of extermination of Hebrews from occupied Poland. He proceeds to commit genocide on a grand scale. The German army hates Reinhard (due to his thugs and ethnic cleansing agenda) as he spies on them to collect dirt and then uses the intel against the general and admirals to compel them to do his bidding. Reinhard makes all Hebrews wear a distinctive symbol certifying their race and makes it mandatory for them to report to their nearest police station. The Czech are used as cheap labor to produce armaments for the German military.

To complete his work, Reinhard and family move to Prague. In Prague Lina confronts Reinhard, but he has grown too much and screams at Lina to remind her that she is only his wife. On 22 January 1942, Heydrich chairs the Wannsee Conference, to ensure there is a "Final Solution" for the genocide of Hebrews. Reinhard then comes up with the final solution to the Hebrew problem, centered around his strategy of concentration camps.

In May 1942, in Prague there is an attempt on Reinhard's life.

Jozef & Jan came from a Czech base in Scotland and were infiltrated into Poland in a bomber. In Poland they are harbored by a series of Czech resistance soldiers including Anna Novak (Mia Wasikowska). The Nazi leadership gets a sense of the Czech plans and arrests the resistance leadership. Only 1 senior member remains, who warns Jozef and Jan that Nazi know about their presence in Prague and hence they should move fast. As the Nazi's arrest more of the resistance members, there is a meeting where the remaining resistance leaders ask Jozef & Jan to abandon their mission to assassinate Reinhard. As they fear the reprisals from Germans. Eventually Jozef & Jan refuse to abandon their mission.

The mission fails when the 2 assassins fail to kill Reinhard on the spot, but he later succumbs to his injuries in front of his wife and Himmler. The Nazi's hunt down Jozef & Jan and the remaining Czech resistance. This was only made possible when one of the resistance members (who was against the assassination of Reinhard), squeals about the entire plan to the Nazis.