yuri orlov
Yuri Orlov is the main protagonist of the film, and, although inspired by a few notable criminals, is somewhat representative of all arms traffickers of the world. This character is somewhat perplexing, showing some aspects of morality in very few instances throughout the film. Other than these few occurrences however, the question of whether or not Yuri has any morals at all rarely comes into question, as the answer is obviously no, he does not. As it states in the plot summary, Yuri compares the need for weapons to the need for food. He states he had no real prospects growing up, but that he did however "have a natural instinct for smuggling contraband". Although every choice Yuri makes is essentially upon his own free will, and thus his consequences as a result, and although he is given ample opportunities to quit gunrunning, and equally ample shortcomings that should make him want to quit gunrunning, one could make the argument that Yuri was just a 'product of his environment'; an idiom Louis Althusser might agree with if having seen this movie. Growing up in an institution-like environment where Russian gangsters are killed every week and the only positive outlook you have on a seemingly unattainable future is working at your parents' fake Jewish restaurant with your similarly disconsolate younger brother, may just warp your mind a little bit and push you into a collective of illegal professions, but this does not excuse Yuri for his actions and almost complete lack of humanity. It also doesn't excuse him for setting his younger brother down a path of drug addiction and crime and eventually to his death, by recruiting him as his partner.
Being a gunrunner, Yuri sells to any nation, leader, or organization in any corner of the world, claiming no flag, country (although he lives in the US), or affiliation. It doesn't matter what the purpose of the weapons is for either, as he consciously, and well-aware of the intentions, sells to Sierra Leone "freedom fighters" minutes away from slaughtering a camp of refugees. Whenever the morality of his vocation comes into question by those closest to him, Yuri just makes up an excuse for why he does what he does, claiming to his brother "it's not our fight", or "it's not our business", or an in-depth explanation, "how many car-salesmen talk about their work; how many cigarette-salesmen? Both their products kill more people every year than mine, at least mine has a safety switch. If those guys can leave their work at the office, so can I"; to Agent Valentine, "I don't want people dead, Agent Valentine; I don't put a gun to anybody's head and make them shoot. I admit, a shooting war is better for business, but I prefer people to fire my guns and miss; just as long as they're firing"; to his wife, "I sell people a means to defend themselves, Ava, that's all... It makes no difference if I stop, someone will take my place the next day... It's not about the money, I'm good at it." On the contrary, Yuri does in fact display some level of remorse, demonstrated after André, Sr. aided him in the murder of rival gunrunner Simeon Weisz, the man responsible for Yuri's uncle Dmitri's death. This feeling, however, soon fades, becoming something of a moral double-standard, and Yuri gets back on the horse doing what he does best.
Yuri meets Weisz when he first begins gunrunning with his brother Vitaly, though Weisz is initially unmoved by Yuri's young ambition and enthusiasm. He tells Yuri that this is no place for amateurs, which burns Yuri, causing him to hold a grudge against Weisz. This must be what Pierre Bourdieu in his book Language and Symbolic Power when he said, “indeed, any attempt to institute a new division must reckon with the resistance of those who, occupying a dominant position in the space thus divided, have an interest in perpetuating a doxic relation to the social world which leads to the acceptance of established divisions as natural or to their symbolic denial through the affirmation of a higher unity (national, familial, etc.)”. After Yuri hits some success in the trade, he decides to go into business with his alcoholic uncle who was a Major General of the Red Army and a decorated war hero. He is soon killed by Weisz after he declines Weisz's many offers to do business, which in turn leads to the death of Weisz at Yuri and André Baptiste's hands. If they had taken what Bourdieu was trying to impart here, there may have been less bloodshed on both sides.
Yuri's immorality holds no bounds, as he not only supplies people with a means to kill themselves, but often lies to his family and cheats on his wife. He excuses the latter betrayal by saying "despite the other women, I always made love to Ava as if she was the only one". Even before they are married, he states that "in my experience, some of the best relationships are based on lies and deceit. Since that's where they usually end up anyway, it's a logical place to start", as the reason he and his wife met in the first place was because he booked her for a fake photo shoot as a means of swooning her. Once Ava finds out what Yuri's profession really is, she makes him stop to his dismay. He goes legit for about six months until he claims "you can't ignore biology", meaning he cannot stay away from what he sees as his true calling. As he prepares to travel back to Africa to deal arms once again, he drags his brother along with him, despite Vitaly getting clean and starting a somewhat new life. This ultimately leads to Vitaly's death and Yuri's capture by Agent Valentine. He tells Agent Valentine that the reason he will not be tried and prosecuted is "the same reason you think I'll be convicted. I do rub shoulders with some of the most vile, sadistic men calling themselves leaders today. But some of those men are the enemies of your enemies. And while the biggest arms dealer in the world is your boss, the President of the United States, who ships more merchandise in a day than I do in a year, sometimes it's embarrassing to have his fingerprints on the guns. Sometimes he needs a freelancer like me to supply forces he can't be seen supplying. So, you call me 'evil', but unfortunately for you, I'm a necessary evil". Although Yuri is correct in this statement (and the one above about someone else just taking his place when he's gone) and is released, he advertises it with so much conviction in his voice that you would think he has no soul at all. Despite him being responsible for his brother's death, his parents disowning him because they know the truth, and his wife and son leaving him for finding out he lied, Yuri still pushes his grief and humanity aside and returns to the gunrunning life, becoming the very personification of unconscionable accountability.
Being a gunrunner, Yuri sells to any nation, leader, or organization in any corner of the world, claiming no flag, country (although he lives in the US), or affiliation. It doesn't matter what the purpose of the weapons is for either, as he consciously, and well-aware of the intentions, sells to Sierra Leone "freedom fighters" minutes away from slaughtering a camp of refugees. Whenever the morality of his vocation comes into question by those closest to him, Yuri just makes up an excuse for why he does what he does, claiming to his brother "it's not our fight", or "it's not our business", or an in-depth explanation, "how many car-salesmen talk about their work; how many cigarette-salesmen? Both their products kill more people every year than mine, at least mine has a safety switch. If those guys can leave their work at the office, so can I"; to Agent Valentine, "I don't want people dead, Agent Valentine; I don't put a gun to anybody's head and make them shoot. I admit, a shooting war is better for business, but I prefer people to fire my guns and miss; just as long as they're firing"; to his wife, "I sell people a means to defend themselves, Ava, that's all... It makes no difference if I stop, someone will take my place the next day... It's not about the money, I'm good at it." On the contrary, Yuri does in fact display some level of remorse, demonstrated after André, Sr. aided him in the murder of rival gunrunner Simeon Weisz, the man responsible for Yuri's uncle Dmitri's death. This feeling, however, soon fades, becoming something of a moral double-standard, and Yuri gets back on the horse doing what he does best.
Yuri meets Weisz when he first begins gunrunning with his brother Vitaly, though Weisz is initially unmoved by Yuri's young ambition and enthusiasm. He tells Yuri that this is no place for amateurs, which burns Yuri, causing him to hold a grudge against Weisz. This must be what Pierre Bourdieu in his book Language and Symbolic Power when he said, “indeed, any attempt to institute a new division must reckon with the resistance of those who, occupying a dominant position in the space thus divided, have an interest in perpetuating a doxic relation to the social world which leads to the acceptance of established divisions as natural or to their symbolic denial through the affirmation of a higher unity (national, familial, etc.)”. After Yuri hits some success in the trade, he decides to go into business with his alcoholic uncle who was a Major General of the Red Army and a decorated war hero. He is soon killed by Weisz after he declines Weisz's many offers to do business, which in turn leads to the death of Weisz at Yuri and André Baptiste's hands. If they had taken what Bourdieu was trying to impart here, there may have been less bloodshed on both sides.
Yuri's immorality holds no bounds, as he not only supplies people with a means to kill themselves, but often lies to his family and cheats on his wife. He excuses the latter betrayal by saying "despite the other women, I always made love to Ava as if she was the only one". Even before they are married, he states that "in my experience, some of the best relationships are based on lies and deceit. Since that's where they usually end up anyway, it's a logical place to start", as the reason he and his wife met in the first place was because he booked her for a fake photo shoot as a means of swooning her. Once Ava finds out what Yuri's profession really is, she makes him stop to his dismay. He goes legit for about six months until he claims "you can't ignore biology", meaning he cannot stay away from what he sees as his true calling. As he prepares to travel back to Africa to deal arms once again, he drags his brother along with him, despite Vitaly getting clean and starting a somewhat new life. This ultimately leads to Vitaly's death and Yuri's capture by Agent Valentine. He tells Agent Valentine that the reason he will not be tried and prosecuted is "the same reason you think I'll be convicted. I do rub shoulders with some of the most vile, sadistic men calling themselves leaders today. But some of those men are the enemies of your enemies. And while the biggest arms dealer in the world is your boss, the President of the United States, who ships more merchandise in a day than I do in a year, sometimes it's embarrassing to have his fingerprints on the guns. Sometimes he needs a freelancer like me to supply forces he can't be seen supplying. So, you call me 'evil', but unfortunately for you, I'm a necessary evil". Although Yuri is correct in this statement (and the one above about someone else just taking his place when he's gone) and is released, he advertises it with so much conviction in his voice that you would think he has no soul at all. Despite him being responsible for his brother's death, his parents disowning him because they know the truth, and his wife and son leaving him for finding out he lied, Yuri still pushes his grief and humanity aside and returns to the gunrunning life, becoming the very personification of unconscionable accountability.