The Order

The Order is a 2001 American action film directed by Sheldon Lettich, and written by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who also starred in the film. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on March 12, 2002. Plot The film opens in 1099 at the end of the First Crusade, depicting Christian Crusaders sacking Jerusalem and slaughtering the local population. A Flemish Christian knight named Charles Le Vaillant (Jean-Claude Van Damme) becomes demoralized by the horrors of war and decides to create a new religious order. This new order brings together members from the three main religions of the region: Christians, Jews, and Muslims. As a self-declared leader and messiah, Charles writes the sacred texts of the Order. While traveling to Syria, his camp is attacked by the Christian knights, who kill Le Vaillant. The last chapter from their religious text, buried by Le Vaillant in a secret place, becomes lost in the desert after the attack. In the modern day, Rudy Cafmeyer (Jean-Claude van Damme), a thief and smuggler of valuable historical artifacts, breaks into a high-security building and steals a precious Fabergé egg. He triggers an alarm in the process and is forced to fight his way out of the building, finding no car to meet him because the getaway driver, Yuri, was forced to leave by police. His problems are compounded when a potential buyer attempts to steal the egg and falls on it, destroying it. It is revealed that Rudy's father is archaeologist and museum curator Oscar "Ozzie" Cafmeyer (Vernon Dobtcheff). Ozzie travels to Israel in search of a secret he has discovered and is kidnapped while on the phone with Rudy, who travels to Jerusalem to rescue him. Ozzie's associate, Professor Walt Finley (Charlton Heston), gives Rudy the key to a safe-deposit box in East Jerusalem before being gunned down by unknown assailants. Rudy opens the safe-deposit box and finds an ancient map showing a series of tunnels and a treasure room beneath Jerusalem.