Essay On Lord Of War

The film Lord of War, directed by Andrew Niccol follows the life story of Yuri Orlov, a notorious arms dealer with ties to many sovereign governments the world over. The movie begins with the constructions of a rifle round and follows its transport until it makes the way into a machine gun and is fired into the head of small African child. This scene sets the tone for the entire film in that it creates an adept foreshadow of the life of Orlov as a gun runner being one where the pursuit of industry in arms manufacture ultimately leads to blood being shed.
/> As the film progresses it becomes increasingly clear that the life of Orlov serves as a metaphor for the state of the world where weapons serve as the facilitators of a perpetual cycle of violence. Yuri begins his career by purchasing a small Uzi from an Israeli and selling it for a profit. As he becomes more successful, his risks become greater and his profits balloon to epic proportions. The turning point in the film is when Orlov orchestrates a deal in Columbia wherein he is offered cocaine in lieu of a cash payment for his guns. In the argument that ensues, Orlov is shot by one of his own weapons and is forced to relent and accept the drugs as payment. In the end the drugs prove to be a more lucrative form of payment than cash would have been. The irony of this moment is extremely poignant. Orlov, seeking to better his life with weapons, is injured by one of the very items he sought to gain that better life. Not only this, but instead of receiving cash with which he could perhaps do something constructive, he is paid in poison. This moment in the film serves to illustrate that death returns death, the increased profits earned from drug sales highlighting that this return eventually comes back with interest.
Throughout the film Orlov is pursued by Interpol Agent Jack Valnetine, an incorruptible officer of the law seeking to disrupt the violence bolstered by men like Orlov. At the end of the film Valentine apprehends Orlov but, as Orlov predicts, Valentine receives a call instructing him to release Orlov for by this point his arms dealing has become too important to allow him to remain jailed. The film makers thus draw the story full circle but showing that the political and bureaucratic systems of the modern Western world have been catered to support men like Orlov because they support these nations’ interests. It is in fact our own governments that support mass violence because it allows the powerful to remain in power and justice cannot be allowed to interfere.
Lord of War’s impactful commentary on modern political systems invigorates in the viewer nostalgia for a simpler era with an insurmountable code of honor based in justice. It points to greed for profits and lust for power as the corrupting influences in our society and how the acceptance and embracing of these realities serve to perpetuate a cycle of degradation which increasingly bankrupts our society with each exchange.