Lord of War Movie Review

Lord of War: A Tale of Survival and Deception

Lord of War is a film about the extent to which the lead, Yuri Orlov, went in order to survive in life. The plot of the film is based on a true story. As a way of achieving success in life, Yuri became an arms dealer. He supplied weapons to countries at war, but it wasn’t long before Interpol agents like Jack Valentine tracked him down in an attempt to intercept his consignments and trap him red-handed with the weapons. The film is based around certain philosophical themes, one of which is dishonesty. As the film begins, Yuri gives a narration of his early childhood in Brooklyn after they left Ukraine. His family begins to masquerade as Jews in order to draw the attention of the soviets away from them. Their family was premised on lies but still managed to cope with life in New York where they owned a restaurant and found ways to make ends meet. The rest of the family was content having a roof over their heads and having a meal in their stomachs apart from Yuri who had bigger ambitions.

Subject Relativism and the Arms Trade

Subject Relativism is depicted from Yuri\u2019s idea to start arms\u2019 dealing that was arrived at after he witnessed two people murdered in cold blood by a Russian mafia and he was impressed at the prospects of delivering more weapons to people like him. Like any other ordinary person, he told his lucrative business idea to a confidant. The confidant was his younger brother Vitaly who at the time was working in their restaurant. He asked him to become his partner as they dealt in drugs. The fact that Vitaly approved Yuri\u2019s proposal clearly showed that it was morally right and therefore Yuri went ahead and started their dealings. Their business started off well as they supplied guns to the local gangs but this was not what Yuri had envisioned when he had the idea in the first place. He later gets some connection and starts to supply weapons internationally. Yuri thereafter lands a lucrative deal with Andre Baptiste who was a dictator in Africa and gets the diamonds as payment for his consignment. This dictator labels Yuri as the lord of war due to his exemplary conduct in the delivery of the weapons.

Ethical Issues in the Arms Trade

The main ethical issue in the movie that actually propels Yuri to get into the arms dealing trade is his love for quick money. At a scene in the movie, Yuri states that he disliked toiling for money obtained in an honest manner since acquiring it was marred with a lot of competition yet the money was very little. This love for money causes his brother Vitaly to get killed and his family to dessert him but he was unperturbed and goes on doing his arms dealings.

Another ethical issue depicted in the movie is the lack of firmness. As an individual having moral standing, Yuri should have ensured that he stood his ground when he received an impromptu visit from Baptiste in his house. Baptiste was in the company of his son and they sought to acquire another consignment of weapons. Prior to this scene, Yuri had vowed to start an honest living but as soon as he was given some diamonds he became compromised and leaned back to source the guns for them.

The next ethical issue being portrayed in the movie is deceit. This issue is clear right from the onset as Yuri and his family masquerade as Jews yet they were soviets from Ukraine. It seems to the audience that this trait of being dishonest was deeply enshrined in Yuri\u2019s mind since he was taught to lie and stick with the consequences of those lies from a tender age. Yuri continues to propagate deceit when he acted promptly to rename the ship that was carrying his guns from Kristol to Kono in a bid to throw off the authorities off his trail.

Another ethical issue that is seen from the movie is the unlawful killings that were committed. From Yuri\u2019s narration as the movie commenced, a Russian mafia murders two people in cold blood. These murders were the motivation for Yuri to start dealing in guns since he saw the business as a lucrative one. These unlawful killings continued when Weisz was murdered by Baptiste after he was accused of invading Yuri’s territory. Their wanton murders serve to show the manner with which some people viewed human life with little or no regard to it. As much as Yuri is the one supplying the guns that lead to the deaths of so many people, he does not believe he is responsible for any of the lives lost since he was not the one shooting.

Yuri is delusional; he seems not to find fault in his actions. He propagates the theory of cultural relativism. He advances it by stating that the acts of war propagated in the movie are just normal occurrences and that he is helping people defend themselves. It was very ironical that guns were on the same pedestal as food in the order of importance. He never also saw any harm in his arms dealing business since he was just a shrewd businessman and never took any sides in the war. Yuri proves that he does not value the basic unit of a family, that is, the family. He picks his business over his family and the death of his brother did not really affect his behavior. His brother died as a result of an arms deal gone wrong.

Moral Characters: Vitaly and Valentine

Vitaly, who is Yuri’s younger brother, seems like the voice of reason in the arms dealing business. Actually, at some point in the movie he questions his morals with regards to the actions that he was doing. He has a cocaine addiction and does his best to fight it through attending rehabilitation sessions. Vitaly shows that he has some humanity in him when he tried to convince Yuri not to complete the arms deal after he witnessed their potential client kill a woman and a child. After Yuri failed to heed to Vitaly’s claim, Vitaly had to take the law into his hands by hurling a hand grenade and destroying a consignment of guns. This action caused the gang to shoot and kill Vitaly as Yuri watched.

Valentine who was the Interpol agent is depicted as a man of high morals and standards. He promotes the theory of ethical egoism. He does this by seeking to maintain and uphold the law and does not want to break the law in order to find Yuri culpable of the crime of trafficking and dealing in weapons. Valentine’s character is beyond reproach and Yuri contends this fact by claiming that he could not be compromised at all. There was a particular scene where the efforts by Valentine and Ambisi to intercept Yuri’s consignment bore no fruit as Yuri was tipped off. Ambisi gets frustrated by the fact that they found Yuri with an empty plane with no weapons. He wanted to kill Yuri and bring an end to the menace but Valentine reprimands him and tells him that action would not be lawful and would place him at the same level as the criminals they were trying to catch.

The Impact of Unethical Choices in the Arms Trade

In my own opinion, I believe the movie gave the audience a negative perception about the world of business. All the ethical standards that are required of any business venture were clearly not adhered to. As a business owner one should always act in good faith. This ensures that the goods one provides are able to enhance the growth of the society at large. In the movie, the goods that Yuri was selling were weapons that were used to kill so many people. In the scene where his brother was killed, he did not want to look at the plight of the members of the community that were bound to suffer due to the weapons they had brought.

As a business person, one should not be entirely money minded and corrupt as Yuri was. Yuri could go all ends to ensure that he received money and to him, ethical standards that were placed on a businessman did not apply. I could also perceive that corruption and dishonesty goes a long way in affecting the society at large. The fact that Yuri and his parents lied to their neighbors and friends that they were Jews also manifested in Yuri’s character as he was a very deceitful person.

The movie also showed us the value of having moral and ethical standings. Valentine was determined to maintain the run of law regardless of whether someone was watching or not. Ambisi wanted to kill Yuri and dump him since no one would notice but Valentine told him not to since that was an unlawful act. It was evident that the character of Valentine was beyond reproach. Yuri himself attested to this. Valentine’s character is a sharp contrast of Yuri’s character. This contract could be depicted from the way that the blood diamonds given to him quickly drove him to disregard the resolution he had made not to deal in drugs.

The Importance of Honesty and Trust

The movie has made me more alive to the pertinent ethical issues that arise in not only the movie but also in our day to day undertakings. I have been able to critically analyze my ideas and realize my motivation to study in school. The most important lesson I could draw from Yuri’s character is the value of knowing what you want and realizing the ends you have to go to meet your set objectives. If my desire is to become the greatest software engineer, I should be able to forfeit everything in order to realize that dream. Vitaly’s Character has taught me to have that voice of reason inside me and not have total disregard for others since my actions may affect them. Finally, I have learned from Valentine that one should always strive to do well to others regardless of whether they deserve it or not since there is no joy in revenge.

The Consequences of Deception and Addiction

The delusional notion that Yuri has of hiding things from his family in a bid to protect them is flawed. He should have disclosed all the material facts to them instead of them coming to find out from a third party. Doing this ensured that he founded his family on deceit and lies. His wife felt cheated since Yuri had always put it to her that he was engaged in an honest business with his brother. Not revealing the truth only served to hurt the family and the element of trust suddenly deteriorated. His wife viewed him as the criminal that he was. Efforts by his wife to get him to change appeared to work but this was short-lived due to Yuri\u2019s greed. He took Baptiste\u2019s blood diamonds and sourced the weapons he wanted. Soon after his wife found out, she took the children and left.

Vitaly clearly had a cocaine addiction problem and he sought the services of a rehab. Nonetheless, the fact that he took cocaine right before rehab then attending the sessions was entirely counterproductive. Yuri clearly saw this but did not reprimand his brother. Yuri should not have allowed his brother to continue abusing cocaine since it was detrimental not only to his health but also his social life. Deterring his brother from taking cocaine could have sparked some animosity between them but it was of necessity. It was better for Yuri to have his brother in good health and not talking than having him lead his life like a junkie.

An Ethical Dilemma: Double-Dealing and Compromising Morals

It is immoral and unethical that Yuri double deals with both the United States of America and the warlords that are fighting the United States. As a business person, this brings a conflict of interest since both parties look up to him in order to acquire the necessary weapons that they use against each other. He justifies himself by stating that even the highest office in the United States, the President, also deals in smuggling of weapons and he considered him the kingpin in the arms dealing trade. He also put it to Valentine that sometimes he gets the president’s fingerprints on the guns and is embarrassed about it. Yuri deems himself as a necessary evil due to the fact that even the president requires his services as a conduit to supply guns to other people in order not to get his hands dirty. For this reason, Yuri assures Valentine that he will be released from custody.