Ronin (film) - Plot

Plot

In a warehouse on the outskirts of Paris, France, Deirdre (McElhone), a young Irish woman who is a member of the IRA, meets with Spence (Bean), Larry (Sudduth), Gregor (Skarsgård), Vincent (Reno), and Sam (De Niro), all of whom are veterans of special operations units. Deirdre briefs the men on their mission, attacking a heavily armed convoy and stealing a briefcase, the contents of which are never identified. Following the briefing, the team begins assembling their equipment, and Deirdre meets with her handler, Seamus O'Rourke (Pryce), who reveals that Russian gangsters are bidding for the case so the team must act quickly to intercept it. Later, Spence is exposed as a fraud and summarily dismissed. The others depart for Nice, France where they observe the convoy for several days and form a plan. They ambush the convoy and pursue the survivors through the surrounding countryside. After a lengthy car chase and gun battle, Gregor betrays the team, steals the case, and disappears.

Gregor first tries to sell the case to the Russians, but his contact betrays him, and Gregor shoots him. He next contacts Mikhi (Atkine), the leader of the gangsters, and threatens to sell the case to the IRA unless Mikhi pays a grossly inflated price; Mikhi agrees. Meanwhile, the rest of the team track Gregor through one of Sam's old CIA contacts and corner him in the Arles Amphitheatre. Following a hectic firefight, Gregor flees, but is captured by Seamus, who kills Larry and escapes with Deirdre. Sam is wounded in the fight, and is taken to a villa owned by Vincent's friend Jean-Pierre (Lonsdale). After removing the bullet and allowing Sam time to recuperate, Vincent asks Jean-Pierre to help him locate Gregor, Deirdre, and Seamus. Meanwhile, Gregor admits to Seamus he mailed the case to himself. Days later, as Gregor and Seamus retrieve the case, Sam confronts Deirdre, who realizes that Sam has feelings for her and will not shoot her. Following a high-speed chase through Paris, Vincent shoots out Dierdre's tires and sends her car over a highway overpass. Gregor emerges from the car with the briefcase and escapes, while Deirdre and Seamus are rescued from the burning car.

Vincent and Sam discover that the case is a type used by figure skaters. Intelligence from Jean-Pierre's contacts also suggest the Russians are involved with figure skater Natacha Kirilova (Witt), who is appearing at the local arena. At the arena, Mikhi, in the audience watching Natacha, receives a call and goes backstage. At the meet, Gregor reveals there is a sniper in the arena who will shoot Natacha if Mikhi betrays him. Mikhi shoots Gregor anyway, the sniper shoots Natacha, and Mikhi leaves with the case and the money. Vincent and Sam follow the panicked crowd out of the arena in time to see Seamus shoot Mikhi and steal the case. Sam runs ahead of Seamus and finds Deirdre sitting in the getaway car. He urges her to leave, revealing himself as a CIA agent pursuing Seamus, not the briefcase. Seamus shoots his way past the crowd, wounding Vincent, back to the arena, with Sam in pursuit. In the final gunfight, Seamus is about to kill Sam, but is fatally shot by Vincent.

Days later, in a Parisian cafe, Sam and Vincent talk over radio broadcasts revealing a peace agreement reached between Sinn Féin and the British government, partly as a result of Seamus's death. They part, and Sam drives off with his CIA contact. Vincent pays the bill and leaves.