'Lord of War': Weapons of class destruction

War may be hell, but it certainly is a growth business. And business is good for Yuri Orlov, an international arms dealer whose only politics is profit.

Yuri (Nicolas Cage) narrates his mercenary journey through life in the darkly comic, smart-alecky Lord of War, written and directed by crafty Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, The Truman Show), who did his homework concocting this fictional character, a composite of several real gun-runners, telling a story so outlandish there has to be some truth to it.

Lions Gate Films 'Lord of War' A The verdict: A darkly comic saga of a self-made, sell-to-anyone arms dealer, in a world where death is a lively business. Director: Andrew Niccol Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ian Holm, Eamonn Walker Run time: 122 minutes Release date: September 16, 2005 Rating: R for strong violence, drug use, language and sexuality. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Lord of War"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

With unshakable nerves, Orlov sells his wares to dictators and despots of all nations, secure in the knowledge that he is immune from prosecution, handling the dirty work that the American government cannot be caught doing.

Do not expect Lord of War to show up at the White House screening room anytime soon.

Yuri is the embodiment of the American Dream, emigrating from Ukraine as a boy, settling in the Russian enclave of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and quickly seeing the potential in supplying the neighborhood gangs with weapons. Hey, you gotta start somewhere. And as Yuri says, likening a first gun sale to one's first experience with sex, nobody knows what he's doing, but it is still highly satisfying.

It is not that Yuri wants money for its own sake. Growing up, he became hopelessly smitten with Brooklyn beauty queen Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan) and instinctively understood that she would be an expensive acquisition. So aided by his kid brother Vitali (Jared Leto), Yuri circles the globe, delivering arms, tanks, grenades, bombs and the occasional jet fighter, and taking the money and running before the shooting begins.

Sometimes the transaction becomes a barter, as when the Colombian drug lord makes a non-negotiable decision to pay Yuri in cocaine. Vitali becomes particularly enamored of the white powder and has to be admitted to a rehab clinic, as Lord of War mutates from Catch-22 to Scarface.

No, make that The Fugitive, for Interpol agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke) obsessively tracks Yuri, eager to get him out of commission and into a jail cell. But no sooner does he have him in an interrogation room that Valentine understands just how well connected Yuri is.

So it goes for Yuri, deal to deal, amassing a fortune but losing his soul. And losing Ava, who grows suspicious of her husband's far-flung business trips and begins nosing around in his makeshift office on the New York docks.

Niccol moves the complex story along with slick efficiency, but it is his literate, cynical screenplay that makes the film such a standout. Selling it as well as he hawks AK-47s is laconic Cage, as the weaselly Everyman who scurries up the ladder of success, always sharply dressed, no matter what grimy Third World country he is in.

Hawke lends solid support as Yuri's by-the-books stooge and Ian Holm is a touch of class as a veteran arms dealer who makes the mistake of belittling Yuri as he tries to break into the business.

Lord of War is that rare mass entertainment that leads audiences to think about the way the world works, fueled by mordant humor and more than a few explosions.