Lord of War (2005)

This is perhaps one of the most interesting opening sequences I've seen. The camera follows the path of a bullet from manufacture to usage. We get to see it developed through a factory, trade hands with various people, and finally be used on a battlefield. As an opening sequence it does a great job of catching and holding the viewer's attention.



I found the symbolism of this shot to be quite interesting. Here we have a statue of Lenin, our antagonist weapons dealer doing some calculations, and a row of military vehicles stretching into the background. In this world, capitalism thrives, and it is the merchant class that gets rich most easily. Here we see a visual manifestation of the outcome of the struggle between the classes: Communism falls to the wealthy, aided by the military.



Here we have another somewhat symbolic scene. The gun dealer and his brother (his partner in "the biz") are both nearly shot by a spray of bullets. After much ducking and dropping of recently-made money, the brother looks around to see who fired the shots. It's a firing squad, and they're executing several people including women and children. The brother wants to interfere, but the gun dealer keeps him from doing so, while also gripping his money more tightly. Here we see a conflict of human nature; the desire to help others, and the desire to stay wealthy (and alive). Ultimately, they choose the latter.