In real life, Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout seems more like a Sacha Baron Cohen creation than the avaricious monster depicted by Nicolas Cage in Andrew Niccol's 2005 film á clef, Lord of War. Seizing upon the opportunities presented by the fall of Communism, Bout became a millionaire by the age of 25, as his fleet of cargo planes flew to destinations around the world delivering everything from electronics to luxury comestibles. But he was also happy to view weapons as just another commodity and he struck deals with despots and terrorists across Africa and Asia seemingly without a hint of conscience. In e-mails sent from his prison cell, Bout denies being a "Merchant of Death", and his wife Alla evidently allowed directors Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin access to his home movie archive in the hope of convincing them that Bout was a genial, partying tourist who occasionally did favours for some dubious characters. But, as this riveting documentary unfolds, the revelations are as appalling as the moral abnegation, and it becomes easier to equate this roguish buffoon with the banality of evil.
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