10 Best Jared Leto Performances
5. Lord Of War
As Vitaly Orlov, brother to Nicholas Cage's Yuri Orlav, Leto is something of the heart in the darkness of this 2005 film about illegal arms trading. Special attention must however be paid to the opening credits of the film, which tracks the path of a bullet from its creation to its use in the field. The scene is set to For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield.
Cage plays an arms dealer who gets his younger brother caught up in the business. Together, they begin to make serious money on deals, though Leto's Vitaly becomes addicted to cocaine in the course of his deals.
He is shipped away to a rehab facility, allowing older brother Yuri to continue working for the pair of them. Without him, there is little consideration for the cost of the business he is conducting.
However, Yuri is forced to see his business through his younger brother's eyes once Vitaly pleads with him to abandon a course of action that will lead to the murder and destruction of a refugee camp. Vitaly is killed in the conflict, breaking Yuri down.
Nicholas Cage led flicks are something of a hit or miss when it comes to quality, but Lord of War is very much a hit. Leto's portrayal of the broken younger brother, trying to do the right thing, forces Yuri and the audience to truly see the cost of this industry.