Considering the recent popularity of secret agents in the media, it’s surprising that few seemed to dress up as spies this Halloween. Perhaps we simply failed to notice them. After all, spies are masters of disguise.

This weekend, Fair Game arrived in theaters. Based on the memoirs of former CIA agent Valerie Plame, the thriller chronicles the outing of Plame (played by Naomi Watts) as a secret agent by the Bush administration in 2003. Balancing classic spy suspense with personal struggle, the film brings Plame’s all-too-familiar political history to a relatable level.

Although Fair Game succeeds on its own merit — critics have given the flick mostly positive reviews and Sean Penn and Naomi Watts rarely disappoint — how much credit does the recent spy trend deserve in any box-office numbers the film garners?

Last July’s “Illegals Program,” (in particular, hottie Anna Chapman) brought spies to the limelight and piqued the public’s interest in espionage. The media coverage acted as free advertising for 2010 films like Salt, The Spy Next Door, The American, Knight and Day and The Killers.

(By the way, can anyone explain the difference between Knight and Day and Killers other than the latter is a watered-down, even more horrible version of the former? I’m reminded of Twister and Tornado.)

The number of secret agent movies this year may seem higher than usual. But we’re probably just more attuned to them due to events like triple agent bomber Abu Mulal al-Balawi and the Russian sleeper agents, headlined by Anna.

The truth is we've always loved spies. After all, they lend themselves to film perfectly, from Hitchcock’s Notorious (1946) to De Niro’s The Good Shepherd (2006).

The very idea of a spy plays upon our desire to be extraordinary in a world of ordinary, much the same appeal found in fantasy or superhero stories.

Spies not only know the system; they’re above it. They’re slipping through it undetected, undermining it from hideouts beneath summits of volcanoes. And the best part? We’re in on the secret.

Then there’s the undeniable sex appeal. Think of the suave James Bond (Sean Connery, the first and best) flicking an exploding cigarette atop a speeding train and, seconds later, waltzing into the dining car to meet a buxom blonde. The spy always gets the girl — every girl, actually.

His dangerous work makes him a love-‘em-and-leave-‘em type, but this has no effect on his damsels in distress. As comedian Eugene Mirman observes, “Women love danger. If they could they’d just date a fire.”

The same applies to men, as Angelina Jolie proves equally seductive as the femme fatale in Salt.

Until we stop swooning over mystery, danger and general badassness, spies will populate the silver screen.

“The Illegals Program” begs for a movie adaptation. Unfortunately for screenwriters, Russian beauty Anna Chapman cannot legally sell her story. But who’s to say someone won’t pen a script inspired by the limited information available?

Regardless, expect to see more sexy spies in 2011.