vitaly orlov
Vitaly is the younger brother of Yuri, and self-proclaimed "family [screw]-up". Yuri approaches Vitaly and seduces him into the life of arms trafficking, claiming he needed a partner and that they were doing nothing with their lives, to which Vitaly responds, "Maybe doing nothing is better than doing this." Although not really knowing what he would be getting into, Vitaly reluctantly accepts and seems to hold his own with his brother; but it all comes crashing down when he gets addicted to cocaine early on in their careers, an act that can be seen as direct product of Yuri's 'ambition'. He is seen going in and out of rehab throughout the film, struggling with finding something concrete in his life, often showing up with random girls. Unlike Yuri, Vitaly possesses a sort-of latent humanity, which is fully discernible at the climax of the movie. During his second trip to rehab he tells his brother "be careful, Yuri. Those things you sell kill... inside". This quote obviously foreshadows Vitaly's coming realization of the destruction Yuri's products cause. Although he has his vices and initially helps his brother traffic arms, Vitaly can be viewed as the 'moral side' of Yuri; the side which houses his conscience.
Towards the end of the movie we see Vitaly back at work as the chef at his parents' restaurant, bringing things full-circle for him. He tells Yuri he is clean, has a steady girlfriend who he says "might be the one", and that he is thinking about opening up his own restaurant. In the beginning of the film when Yuri first goes to propositions Vitaly, he notices a 'BEWARE OF THE DOG' sign hanging up in the kitchen, even though they do not have a dog. Vitaly explains that the notice is not to scare people, but rather "it's to scare me; to remind me to beware of the dog in me... I guess it's to remind me to be more human". This scene is very important when trying to understand Vitaly and the actions he takes throughout the rest of the film. Yuri responds to Vitaly by saying "Isn't being a dog part of being human? What if that's the best part of you; the dog part? What if you're really just a two-legged dog?" This conversation between Yuri and Vitaly's different views on the poster cite the obvious differences in their respective moral codes. Yuri already seems to be content with the vacancy where his conscience should reside, however Vitaly is still wrestling with his inner reasoning.
When Yuri comes back to the restaurant to convince Vitaly to come with him on a sale in West Africa, insisting he needed someone he could trust, Vitaly protests by asserting that he has given his word that he's done gunrunning. Yuri, however, gets his way and Vitaly aides him on the trip. When the sale is almost complete, Vitaly walks to the edge of the hill overlooking a small valley where a refugee camp is located. He witnesses a mother and child hacked to death by RUF soldiers which immediately prompts him to tell Yuri to call off the deal, demonstrating the humanity that Yuri never had. Yuri tells him that it's not their business and there's nothing they can do about it, to which Vitaly responds, "Today we can". Yuri seemingly brings Vitaly back to the task at hand, but Vitaly is determined to stop the deal. He sneaks over to one of the two trucks and detonates a grenade inside of it, destroying the supplies as well as killing André Baptiste, Jr.. The RUF soldiers shoot and kill Vitaly before he can destroy the other truck. Everything Vitaly has done in the film has been leading up to this moment, when he would have to decide if he was more human, or animal, like Yuri. He ultimately gives his life for a lost cause, believing that what he was doing was right. Although he does not share every criterion for what Charles Reeves describes in his journal article, The Aristotelian Concept of the Tragic Hero, with the tragic hero, he does in the end, though still flawed, display a concrete set of morals.
Towards the end of the movie we see Vitaly back at work as the chef at his parents' restaurant, bringing things full-circle for him. He tells Yuri he is clean, has a steady girlfriend who he says "might be the one", and that he is thinking about opening up his own restaurant. In the beginning of the film when Yuri first goes to propositions Vitaly, he notices a 'BEWARE OF THE DOG' sign hanging up in the kitchen, even though they do not have a dog. Vitaly explains that the notice is not to scare people, but rather "it's to scare me; to remind me to beware of the dog in me... I guess it's to remind me to be more human". This scene is very important when trying to understand Vitaly and the actions he takes throughout the rest of the film. Yuri responds to Vitaly by saying "Isn't being a dog part of being human? What if that's the best part of you; the dog part? What if you're really just a two-legged dog?" This conversation between Yuri and Vitaly's different views on the poster cite the obvious differences in their respective moral codes. Yuri already seems to be content with the vacancy where his conscience should reside, however Vitaly is still wrestling with his inner reasoning.
When Yuri comes back to the restaurant to convince Vitaly to come with him on a sale in West Africa, insisting he needed someone he could trust, Vitaly protests by asserting that he has given his word that he's done gunrunning. Yuri, however, gets his way and Vitaly aides him on the trip. When the sale is almost complete, Vitaly walks to the edge of the hill overlooking a small valley where a refugee camp is located. He witnesses a mother and child hacked to death by RUF soldiers which immediately prompts him to tell Yuri to call off the deal, demonstrating the humanity that Yuri never had. Yuri tells him that it's not their business and there's nothing they can do about it, to which Vitaly responds, "Today we can". Yuri seemingly brings Vitaly back to the task at hand, but Vitaly is determined to stop the deal. He sneaks over to one of the two trucks and detonates a grenade inside of it, destroying the supplies as well as killing André Baptiste, Jr.. The RUF soldiers shoot and kill Vitaly before he can destroy the other truck. Everything Vitaly has done in the film has been leading up to this moment, when he would have to decide if he was more human, or animal, like Yuri. He ultimately gives his life for a lost cause, believing that what he was doing was right. Although he does not share every criterion for what Charles Reeves describes in his journal article, The Aristotelian Concept of the Tragic Hero, with the tragic hero, he does in the end, though still flawed, display a concrete set of morals.