Why Mike went back for Nick

Rating: Null/10 (10 December 2007)

Throughout the film "The Deer Hunter" we saw distinct personalities in the different characters. Mike is very methodical, he always does things in his own way, in whatever order seems best to him. When hunting deer, Mike insists on taking the deer in "one shot" for it to count. He always seems to be in complete control of his situation. It is this tendency to do things in his own fashion that will eventually lead him to go back to Vietnam to get Nick.
Nick, on the other hand, is more of a betting man. He bets that a football team "won't cross the fifty" and on who will win in a game of pool. He also has stopped thinking about Mike's "one shot" policy and has started to simply enjoy being in nature with the mountains and the trees. He loves hunting with his friends and coming home to his somewhat cruddy blue trailer with Mike as his roommate; Nick loves his way of life. To ensure that he will have that lifestyle to look forward to after coming home from the war, he asks Mike after Pete's wedding reception to promise that he won't leave him in Vietnam no matter what.
While in Vietnam Mike, Nick, and Pete get separated after escaping from the Vietcong Russian-roulette hell-hole. Without much explaining the course of events in between Nick finding Mike in another Russian-roulette betting arena and the trip home, Mike arrives back in Pennsylvania. He tracks down Pete in a mental hospital and finds that Nick has been sending him money from Vietnam, apparently from winning Russian-roulette for money. This fact deeply disturbs Mike all the way up to his first hunting trip since returning from the war. He is tracking an enormous 14-point buck, but simply cannot shoot it. He knows that he can't resume his life in Pennsylvania until he brings Nick home, he promised him. If he had shot the buck and continued his life, his personal order of things would have gotten thrown off and being the methodical person he is, he cannot allow that to happen.
On his final trip back to Vietnam, he finds Nick and discovers that he is, in fact, playing Russian-roulette for money. Mike tries to bring Nick out of the destructive and inevitable path that he has tread since Mike was sent home. Yet, to Mike's horror, Nick can barely recall the memories of his home due to apparent drug use and the effects the war has had on his psyche. In the end a brief glimmer of hope for Nick leads to his tragic end as his luck finally runs out.
Although his best friend was gone, Mike could now move on with his life having brought what was left of Nick back home. Just like he promised he would in that drunken and naked state he was in months ago.