Right on target!

Rating: 7/10 (29 September 2005)

In a society of escalating war, terrorism and youth violence, comes "Lord Of War", a film which studies the alarmingly accessible weapons market and its universal impact.
From its opening shots, the film almost feels like a documentary, with our reluctant hero Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), looking like a weary reporter standing amidst a carpet of bullet shell casings and a backdrop of destruction.
His narration begins as an introduction to the subject at hand before launching into his own life and the profession he has grown to question over the span of his twenty-year experiences.
Yuri is a Ukrainian immigrant who now resides in New York's Little Odessa district. Having grown up in a neighborhood where death was a daily occurrence, he realizes that there's a highly profitable demand for ammunition.
Uninterested in working for his family-owned restaurant, he decides to become an arms dealer, and brings his younger brother Vitaly (Jared Leto) along on the venture, until Vitaly begins a downward spiral into drug addiction and must be left behind at a rehabilitation facility.
Yuri carries on a remarkable salesman pitch, presenting his merchandise as casually as someone who might be promoting household appliances. Soon, he sees his clientèle evolve from civilian buyers to prominent world leaders in battle-torn countries which benefit greatly from Yuri's contributions. He even forms a lucrative, and somewhat risky alliance with a ruthless African dictator (Eamonn Walker).
Meanwhile, Yuri sets his sights on supermodel Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan), his longtime boyhood crush whom he manages to charm and eventually marries. For the most part, Ava remains unsuspecting of Yuri's job, but soon begins to wonder about her husband's lengthy business trips, especially when an Interpol agent, Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke), who has been tracking Yuri, comes knocking on her door asking a lot of questions.
At the center of all the exterior conflict, lies Yuri's inner battle between his conscience and the lure of wealth. As much as he tries to justify his role and all the implications, he can't help but feel remorseful, especially when his indirect involvement eventually becomes all too personal.
"Lord Of War" hits all of its targets by demonstrating its ensemble of strong performances, as well as by being more than just an action movie, but one that carries a political and moral message which never falls under the weight of heavy-handed preachings.