  We extend a number of results from one dimensional dynamics based on spectral
properties of the Ruelle-Perron-Frobenius transfer operator to Anosov
diffeomorphisms on compact manifolds. This allows to develop a direct operator
approach to study ergodic properties of these maps. In particular, we show that
it is possible to define Banach spaces on which the transfer operator is
quasicompact. (Information on the existence of an SRB measure, its smoothness
properties and statistical properties readily follow from such a result.) In
dimension $d=2$ we show that the transfer operator associated to smooth random
perturbations of the map is close, in a proper sense, to the unperturbed
transfer operator. This allows to obtain easily very strong spectral stability
results, which in turn imply spectral stability results for smooth
deterministic perturbations as well. Finally, we are able to implement an Ulam
type finite rank approximation scheme thus reducing the study of the spectral
properties of the transfer operator to a finite dimensional problem.
