Lord Of War Page #3

J.F.K. Airport, New York - 1989

Yuri, it's so nice to be home.

Yeah, good work.

We're gonna get you home.

Come on.

St. Francis Rehabilitation Center

Get out of the car.

Vitaly, I need you to get out of the car.

I promised our parents.

Please.

Vitaly, you're going to have a great time.

This is a top place.

Two Ford models checked in last week.

And that cute weather girl's been

here since July.

Please.

Please, Yuri.

You're a good brother.

You're a good brother, Yuri.

Okay. All right.

Good brother.

All right. Get out of the car.

Okay

Get out of the car.

From then on I was a one-man operation.

I never understood what separated...

the recreational drug user from

the habitual.

But for the grace of God...

it could've been me snorting lines

as long as the Belt Parkway.

However, I wasn't entirely free

of the grip of addiction myself.

There she was again.

Ava Fontaine.

In my neighborhood they say,

"The good get out."

In our own ways, we'd both

conquered the world.

St. Barts, French Caribbean - 1989

You can't force somebody to

fall in love with you.

But you can definitely improve your odds.

It cost me 20 grand to book he

for a fake photo shoot.

Another twelve to buy out the hotel.

Popular hotel, huh?

Ava Fontaine.

Yuri Orlov.

What brings you to St. Barts?

Photo shoot.

At least, that was the plan.

I guess the photographer got

stuck in Miami.

Hurricane. Though there's nothing

on the news.

Those things can come out of nowhere.

So... the job's been cancelled,

and wouldn't you know it,

there's no flight to New York until Tuesday.

You can hitch a ride with me if you like.

I'm leaving tomorrow.

Meanwhile, why don't I take your picture?

In my experience,

some of the most successful

relationships...

are based on lies and deceit.

Since that's where they usually

end up anyway...

it's a logical place to start.

Right there. Hold it there.

Oh, my God!

I nearly went broke trying to

convince her I was anything but.

I knew Ava was not the kind of woman

to be seduced by a ride in a private jet

unless you owned the jet.

This is your plane?

That is my name.

Of course, I was lying.

The plane was rented, like the car

and even the suit I was standing in

At the last minute,

I'd bribed the crew for the paint job.

Luckily, by the time we landed...

Ava wasn't looking anywhere

but in my eyes.

I had no idea.

I'm sorry I didn't recognize you.

Don't apologize. I put clothes on

for a living.

A least you're not taking them off.

I would be, if half the...

...photographers had their way.

What about you?

I'm in transport.

International air freight, mostly.

Business is good.

Where're you from?

I was born in Ukraine,

but I grew up in Brooklyn.

No.

What, you too?

Williamsburg.

Here's to a hurricane.

Without it, I never would have met you.

This is no accident, is it, Yuri?

It feels like fate.

I don't believe in fate.

What do you believe in?

Is that a view, or is that a view?

That's a view.

Thank you. Thank you all.

Congratulations.

Congratulations.

Thanks.

Always remember, son...

There is something above you.

Sure, Dad.

A forty-thousand-dollar crystal chandelier.

Make yourselves at home. Go!

Go!

I'm sorry. Today must be tough.

It'd be nice to have a couple

more guests

from my side of the family.

I'm sure they're watching right now.

Thank you.

But you don't believe that, Yuri...

...remember?

I know you, Yuri.

I know you're not everything you seem.

Don't worry, I won't ask a lot of questions.

I don't want to hear you lie.

You take risks.

Just promise me you won't risk us.

That's the trouble with falling in love

with a dream girl.

They have a habit of becoming real.

I've never been so glad to see Vitaly.

You're f***ing beautiful!

Brother...

Brother, thank you so much...

for giving me such a beautiful sister.

He was out of rehab, and out of his mind.

Dance! Dance! We have to dance!

All right, all right

It's a wedding, a celebration

To Yuri!

For once, he rescued me.

New York - December 25, 1991

I was still living way beyond my means.

Mortgaged to the hilt, using one

credit card to pay another.

Anything to keep Ava in the style to

which she had thanks largely to me

become accustomed.

Ava

Ava, this is too much.

Yuri likes to spoil you.

Then suddenly,

all my Christmases came at once.

Nicki, you did it! Good boy!

That's my grandson!

Yuri, don't you want to see what

your son is doing?

Whoever said it's better to give

than receive...

...never got a Christmas present

like the one I got...

in 1991 from Mikhail Gorbachev.

What the hell's the matter?

It's over!

What's over?

The Cold-f***ing-War!

The Soviet-f***ing Union

The Evil f***ing-Empire!

Mikhail's saying no mas.

He's throwing in the towel.

It's over!

Your son is walking.

That's incredible, honey.

At least they'll get religious freedom.

Let's hope so.

I think I'll go back for a visit.

Do you stay in touch with Uncle Dmitri?

I'm not a fool, Yuri.

I don't think you're going to

Odessa to sell Pepsi-Cola.

Is this how you want to be remembered?

I don't want to be remembered at all.

I'm being remembered,

it means I'm dead.

Merry-f***ing-Christmas!

Who is this, Vitaly?

I'm Angel.

Her name really is Angel.

She's a fairy.

Let's put her on top of the

Christmas tree.

Come on

I love you.

Come on.

I love you all.

Take this.

I'm going back to Ukraine.

I miss Odessa.

I miss you.

I miss you.

Be careful, Yuri. Those things

you sell kill.

Inside.

You're high.

That's true.

Hello, Christian.

Odessa, Ukraine - 1992

During the Cold War, the Red

Army stationed nearly

one million troops in Ukraine...

because of its strategic military importance.

The day after The Wall came down...

the paychecks stopped coming.

Your papers.

There's nothing better for an arms dealer...

combination of disgruntled soldiers

and warehouses full of weapons.

Welcome.

I was hoping Major General Dmitri Volkoff

would open a lot of armory doors

in a lot of military bases.

For a start, he was family.

He was a highly decorated hero

of the Red Army,

and he was almost permanently

sh*t-faced

I can't just sell you government

property, Yuri.

I have to report.

Report to who? Moscow?

As of last week

Moscow's in a foreign country.

New flag, new boss.

There is no new boss yet.

They're all too busy squabbling over

who's gonna get the presidential

holiday home

at the Black Sea.

It's beautiful.

The ones who know don't care any more

and the ones who care don't know.

Show me your inventory.

Those 45 years of mutual hatred

between the East and the West...

had generated the highest weapons

buildup in history.

The Soviets had guns

coming out of the demon hole.

Huge stockpiles, and now no enemy.

How many Kalashnikovs do you have?

Forty thousand.

Is that a four?

It doesn't look like a four to me.

It's more like a one.

No, it's a four.

It's whatever we say it is.

Because no one else will know

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