Korshunov compares himself to the President, when having a philosophical discussion with the President's daughter. He claims that she judges him for having killed someone, and points out that her father kills people too, except that the President keeps his hands clean by delegating the responsibility to others. The film's plot centers on the President taking on Korshunov's men by himself in order to take back his plane, saving his family and those under his command, in contrast to Korshunov, who only hopes to put a murderous dictator back into power. Both men are killers (and by the end of the film, Korshunov can't even claim the moral superiority of doing the killing himself), but the President's motives for killing leave him as the moral victor.
