  The conductance of an open quench-disordered two-dimensional (2D) electron
system subject to an in-plane magnetic field is calculated within the framework
of conventional Fermi liquid theory applied to actually a three-dimensional
system of spinless electrons confined to a highly anisotropic (planar)
near-surface potential well. Using the calculation method suggested in this
paper, the magnetic field piercing a finite range of infinitely long system of
carriers is treated as introducing the additional highly non-local scatterer
which separates the circuit thus modelled into three parts -- the system as
such and two perfect leads. The transverse quantization spectrum of the inner
part of the electron waveguide thus constructed can be effectively tuned by
means of the magnetic field, even though the least transverse dimension of the
waveguide is small compared to the magnetic length. The initially finite
(metallic) value of the conductance, which is attributed to the existence of
extended modes of the transverse quantization, decreases rapidly as the
magnetic field grows. This decrease is due to the mode number reduction effect
produced by the magnetic field. The closing of the last current-carrying mode,
which is slightly sensitive to the disorder level, is suggested as the origin
of the magnetic-field-driven metal-to-insulator transition widely observed in
2D systems.
