I was always fascinated by the heroes wearing a mask (especially when the maski is awesome) and demonstrating a huge knowledge on literature, poetry and arts in general, not to mention when all these are combined with special capabilities on "cutting instruments" like knives... Hugo Weaving's voice "dresses" another comics' character, and the movie takes place in the near future in UK where the US are destroyed and England prevails... It reminded much of Orwell's 1984 with all that mass obedience, surveillance etc... Anyway, the movie is more than awesome!

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, The gunpowder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.

E.H: Who--who are you?
V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what... and what I am is a man in a mask.
E.H: I can see that.
V: Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation, I'm merely remarking on the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.

V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

He was an anarchist, the only difference is that in very few times anarchists went so far in terms of violence. Unfotunately...