Lifelong friends Mike, Steve, and Nick are enlisted in the Vietnam War and pay the ultimate price.

Rating: 5/10 (12 December 2016)

By definition Russian Roulette is the practice of of loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and then pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at one's head. Directly proceeding the definition is a disclaimer that it is an activity that is potentially very dangerous.
In the film The Deer Hunter, Russian Roulette is played on several occasion and is symbolic of the Vietnam War itself. The Vietnam War was horrific and detrimental for all involved. The nature of the war is revealed in The Deer Hunter because of how it impacts each of the character. No matter what, if one went to fight in the Vietnam War they were going to be impacted in an extremely deep way. This is just like Russian Roulette. No matter what, the game will not end until someone has blown their brains out with a bullet. The film maker uses the symbolism of Russian Roulette to comment on the nature of the Vietnam War. He was saying that there is no way to win the game as there is no way to win the war. One will either leave Vietnam will deep emotional, physical, and psychological scars or will not leave at all as they are dead. In The Deer Hunter, Steve leaves without his legs, Mike leaves with permanent emotional scars, and Nick comes home in a coffin.
In regard to patriotism, it has historically been considered a noble and patriotic act to go overseas and serve one's country. However, in the case of the Vietnam War, veterans coming home, such as Mike and Steve, had the realization that they were not actually fighting for anything of substance. These two men, along with other Vietnam veterans, began to question if their patriotism and loyalty to their country really meant anything at all. Mike and Steve lose their best friend, their peace of mind and all they can do is wonder what for ?
The characters of The Deer Hunter rolled the dice and played the game of Russian Roulette. As expected, the game won and the men lost everything.