A Powerful Depiction of The Dark World of Arms Dealers

Rating: 8/10 (4 January 2007)

The "Lord of War" offers us a powerful depiction of the dark world of the global weapons-smuggling. It follows the story of Yuri Orlov (Cage), a poor Ukrainian immigrant, who one day decides to sell guns for a living. Starting as a small fry, and derided by his "competitors" such as the powerful dealer Simeon Weisz (Holm), Orlov soon discovers that he has a talent for this job, and he takes full advantage of it. His brother Vitaly who had started along with him soon realizes that he cannot follow his brother's fast and steady ascendancy, and Yuri goes all way towards the top alone; even his beautiful and beloved wife Ava (Moynahan) is not aware of her husband's business activities. Yuri Orlov seems unassailable, and only Agent Jack Valentine (Hawke) looks determined to stop him...
Apart from the top-notch performances and the exciting plot, the film offers us something far beyond that: It serves as a resourceful documentary regarding the weapons trade, giving us insight on the machinations, back-room deals, and style of the people involved in this ugly business.
What is interesting, is that Orlov is not portrayed as an evil man: He is simply portrayed as someone completely amoral and detached from the evil activity he is engaged in. This approach to be very realistic and persuasive to the viewer, as it avoids the clichés that a typical "bad guy" would produce.
Director A. Niccol has done a very good work throughout the whole movie. His highest moment by far however, is the introduction where we follow the "life" of a bullet from the factory to the victim! 8/10.