The author and director (Andrew Niccol) based this film around real-world events in an effort to expose its viewers to the underground world of small-arms trafficking and the impact it has on society and the traffickers themselves. This film explores the life of Yuri Orlov (played by Cage), from his foray into small-arms trafficking, escalation to trafficking heavy weaponary (spawned by the end of the Cold War), to it’s stunning and eye-opening conclusion. Along the way we are shown the violence that envelops the world we live in (especially the third-world), and the moral struggles made by Yuri and the people around him.

Despite the serious nature of this film the author, supported by Cage’s superb acting, has managed to keep from depressing the viewers through clever use of comedy. It feels unusual laughing during a film with such serious subject matter but it is impossible not to, and it is never in bad taste. Although the film does have a few overtly violent scenes, it isn’t as a whole a particularly violent movie, and should be enjoyed by most.

The introductory scene of this film is spectacular and makes clever use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) to take the viewer on a journey from a bullets creation to it’s final use, all from the bullet’s perspective. Very well done and engaging. Coupled with the film’s fantastic soundtrack it is impossible to not be caught up in the emotion of this film and to come out of it a different person.

I personally would say that this is a must-see film.