pandorum

Order, The (2001)

IMDB rating: 4.10

Plot: In the year 1099, during the Crusades in the 11th Century, Christian soldiers arrive in Jerusalem and slaughter the local population. Christian soldier Charles Le Vaillant becomes demoralized by the horrors of war and decides to create a new religious order. This new order brings together, in a peaceful manner, members from the three religions of the region: Christians, Jews, and Muslims. As a self-imposed leader and messiah, Charles writes the sacred texts of the Order. The Christian Crusaders accuse Charles of heresy, and attack him and his disciples. During the attack, the last chapter from the sacred texts becomes lost in the desert. Now, in modern-day Israel, a devout contingent of Le Vaillant’s followers continues to practice his peaceful teachings. But a disciple named Cyrus has a distorted view of the Order’s peaceful intention. Rudy Cafmeyer is a thief and smuggler of valuable historical artifacts. Rudy manages to break into a high security building where he steals a Faberge Egg, the kind decorated with precious stones and manufactured expressly for the Russian Tsars. Needless to say, the alarm goes off, and Rudy has to fight his way out of the building. Despite this theft, Rudy is not really a bad guy. He stole the egg from the personal collection of a powerful Russian mafia boss. Rudy is a loving son who would do anything for his father Oscar “Ozzie” Cafmeyer. Ozzie, an archaeologist and museum curator, discovers the manuscripts that were lost during the crusades. The manuscripts clearly extol interfaith harmony. In those manuscripts, there is also an ancient map of Jerusalem, which shows the location of a mythical Jewish treasure. Ozzie travels to Israel, where Cyrus has him kidnapped. Rudy, who heard the kidnapping take place while talking to Ozzie on the phone, travels to Jerusalem to rescue Oscar. Oscar’s associate, Professor Walt Finley, hands Rudy the key to a safe-deposit box in East Jerusalem before being gunned down by unknown assailants. Israeli Police Chief Ben Ner views Rudy’s arrival with hostility and takes steps to have Rudy deported, but police lieutenant Dalia Barr risks her life and career to help Rudy — she was once a disciple of the Order, but she left when she was 18-years-old. Cyrus uses a car bomb to assassinate the Order’s leader, Pierre Gaudet, and Cyrus steps up his own rhetoric, hoping to inflame his followers. Rudy opens the safe-deposit box and finds a map that shows a series of tunnels and a treasure room beneath Jerusalem. Ben Ner, who has partnered with Cyrus, covets the gold that the underground tunnels lead to, but Cyrus hopes to plant a bomb during Ramadan that will turn the Israelis against the Palestinians. Dalia and Rudy must get to the Order’s monastery, free Ozzie, and prevent an explosion that could push tensions in the area way past the boiling point.