firearms getting treatment instead of drugs

Rating: 6/10 (20 February 2006)

At the birth of a bullet we start our journey into the world of firearms. Travelling along the assembly line, through inspections, transportation, meeting its other half; the jacket of an gun, to its death where it 'rests in peace', lodged into the head of an African boy; but peace is a word of taboo by the world of guns, for which Yuri Orlov is apart. After witnessing a mob hit, Yuri's mind click to realise that gun trade is one of the most profitable trade on earth, feeding man's lust for guns. Yuri's brother Vitaly takes as the sideman, yet struggles with a heroin addiction. Trophy wife Ava loves the high life, never questioning where the money comes from. Starting from the bottom, Yuri works his way to the top; standing on first name basis with world leaders. Simeon Weisz, once leader of the gun trade, tries to push Yuri out, yet Yuri has more than one person out for him. Constantly on his tail, Jack Valentine wants Yuri out of commission, yet fails from incriminating evidence.
From the opening sequence the message of Lord of War hits you hard, making its statement clear and right in the cross hairs. Mixing satire with the political agenda makes the message even harder, as the story is based on actual events. Lord of War is one of the first films that exposes the underworld of gun trafficking, which is heavily dominated by films of the seedy world of drugs, so Lord of War is a breath of fresh air, yet Lord of War doesn't reach the grandiose mark that a lot of films have done for the drug world. Yuri is not a hypocritical man, for the lack of morals he has, his life is a balance of paradoxes from the friendships he has from all the government leaders. Stating that he does his job because he's just good at it, emotional connections are severed to Yuri, though reflects a cold truth on the people who run the trade. Being unsympathetic for the people who fall under the rain of bullets, it becomes harder to sympathise with him when any tragedy hits him.
Narration is always a hard element to handle, as the narration either works to the films advantage or back-flips and doesn't work. Yuri's narration hinders and distances further from the emotional connection of the characters. Shining moments are the symbolism mixed with the statistics, the sound of cash registers from the expulsion of the bullet shell, placed with what may be any almost to perfectly picked sound track; granted it hits every moment perfectly.
Suited perfectly for Nicholas Cage, he embodies Yuri, evoking that unsympathetic, cool hardness, rattling off gun specs without skipping a beat. Jared Leto turns a disappointing performance as Vitaly, bouncing on an emotionally erratic yo-yo. Ethan Hawke brings nothing special to Valentine, with his brief appearances so wooden. Bridget Moynahan brings one of the better performances, wonderfully showing the unquestioning naivety of Ava.
While its not startling revelatory, Lord of War still surprises on the illegal gun trade, yet doesn't compare to the depth brought to films on drugs. Yet this does open the door for more films like this to make their appearance.