  We report studies of the magnetoresistance (MR) in a two-dimensional electron
system in (100) Si-inversion layers, for perpendicular and parallel
orientations of the current with respect to the magnetic field in the 2D-plane.
The magnetoresistance is almost isotropic; this result does not support the
suggestion of the orbital origin of the MR in Si-inversion layer. In the
hopping regime, however, the MR contains a weak anisotropic component that is
non-monotonic in magnetic field. We found that the field, at which the MR
saturates, for different samples varies by a factor of two, being lower or
higher than the field of complete spin polarization of free carriers.
Therefore, the saturation of the MR can not be identified with the spin
polarization of free carriers.
