In the 1980s in Little Odessa, the Ukrainian immigrant Yuri Orlov decides to change his economical life and becomes an arm dealer with his brother Vitaly Orlov. His business of gunrunner supplying illegal weapons in disturbed areas of the planet increases with the end of the Cold War, and Yuri bribes a Russian general to sell most of his arsenal. Meanwhile, he becomes a millionaire and uses his money to seduce the beautiful Ava Fontaine and they get married, having a son. The detective Jack Valentine chases Yuri trying to put him in jail, but in the end he understands that Yuri is a necessary evil for the interest of his nation.

According to Andrew Niccol, the filmmakers worked with actual gunrunners in the making of the film. The tanks lined up for sale were real and belonged to a Czech arms dealer who had to have them back to sell to another country. They used a real stockpile of over 3,000 AK-47s because it was cheaper than getting prop guns.

Yuri Orlov:
There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other 11?

Continuity: When Ava confronts Yuri about his real occupation, she is seen naked from behind. She then slips on a bathrobe. Shortly afterward she is seen kneeling in front of Yuri while he is sitting on a sofa, and it appears that she is wearing underwear (bra and panties) beneath the robe.

(1967)
Written by Stephen Stills
Performed by Buffalo Springfield
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing