There is a moment in the film where Yuri Orlov’s wife implores him to
give up gun running. Yuri’s answer is very simple, ’’It’s not the money,
I am good at it’’
’Lord of War’ plunges us into the world of international arms dealer,
Yuri Orlov(Nicolas Cage). An Ukrainian migrant in the USA, he begins by
selling a couple of Uzi’s to the local hoods and ends up being the biggest
arms supplier in the world.
’Lord of War’ is a statement on international arms trafficking as ’The Constant Gardener’ is a statement on the international drugs market.
We see Yuri sell arms to virtually anyone, from African despots to Columbian druglords to the warlords in the Balkans. He has no ideology, takes no sides and sometimes sells to both sides except as he says, ’’ I never sold to Osama. He always kept bouncing checks ’’
War is a good thing for him and peace talks are the low point of the day.
He has enough intellectual poise to argue his point of view when confronted with the evil that he is doing. He has enough charm to sweet talk the woman of his dreams (Bridget Moynahan) who he eventually marries.
Of course, he does reap what he sows. His wife leaves him, his brother becomes a cocaine addict and after a tragic event his parents disown him.
But still Yuri is relentless. He believes wars will be fought whether or not he sells arms.Someone else will take my place he says to Interpol agent Jack Valentine(Ethan Hawke) who dogs him at every step.
The movie is like an autobiography of Yuri, narrated by Yuri himself. The film is well directed by Andrew Niccol who has written movies like ’The Terminal’ & ’The Truman Show’
The pace never flags and the opening sequence is brilliant where a bullet moves from assembly line to packing to sales till it reaches its eventual destination, the brain of a young man.
Nicolas Cage is brilliant in the role of Yuri Orlov and has good supporting cast with Jared Leto as his brother Vitaly, Ian Holm as a rival arms dealer and of course Ethan Hawke.
This movie is worth more than just a look. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.
3&1/2 to 4 stars