Lost Bullet 3 Ending Explained & Movie Recap: Is Areski Dead Or Alive?

Talk about going out with a bang! Netflix’s acclaimed French car-action thriller Lost Bullet series ends its journey remarkably with the franchise’s third and final entry, Last Bullet, which neatly wraps up the overarching story, which involves protagonist Lino’s quest for justice. It was Lino’s desperate attempt to do right by Charas, his friend and leader of the Anti-Go Fast squad, who offered Lino a second chance in life. Charas’ murder at the hands of Areski set a series of events in motion that took Lino’s life through a topsy-turvy ride, and with Lost Bullet 3, his arc concludes in a satisfying way. The trademark brilliance in high-octane action choreography heightens an already good narrative and doesn’t let viewers feel any sluggishness through the movie’s nearly two-hour runtime.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Did Areski Return To France?

The final moments of Lost Bullet 2 made the surprise revelation of the murderous former Anti-Go Fast squad member, Areski, returning to France, raising the question as to what he had been up to in these couple of years and why he returned despite being a wanted fugitive in France. As Lost Bullet 3 begins, it is revealed that after getting exposed by Lino and abandoning his family, Areski went to Germany, taking a false identity as a lumber mill worker. He turned a new page in life with his new partner, Mathilde, and lived in a secluded cabin in the woods. Both Marco and Areski were working for France’s narcotics police commander, the crooked Alexander Resz, and during his stay in Germany, Areski was still involved in Resz’ drug-running operations in Germany. However, as seen during the events of Lost Bullet 2, Resz became busy covering up his tracks and cutting off loose ends as he went after Marco, and following Marco’s death, Resz assigned his operatives in Germany to eliminate Areski as well. A brilliant bike chase sequence follows as Areski manages to take down his pursuers, returns to his cabin to take his passport and drug money, and tries to escape with a bewildered Mathilde, who has no idea about Areski’s true nature. However, Resz’s men arrive at the doorstep and kill Mathilde. Areski takes down the majority of the crooks as they unwittingly set off a grenade trap while taking his drug money and forces the surviving thug to inform Resz that the situation has been taken care of. With nowhere to turn to, Areski decides to return to France, back to his family, take his wife, Stella, and their son, Thomas, along with him, and go on the run. 

How Did Lino Learn About Areski’s Return?

On the other hand, taking blame for Marco’s death to save his friend/colleague, Julia, Lino was taken into custody by Spanish police in the final moments of Last Bullet 2. At present, three months following his imprisonment, Lino is brought to Resz by the Spanish police as part of an exchange deal. Resz has Alvaro captured since the freeway fiasco, and as Spanish police hand Lino over to him, he releases Alvaro. However, Resz doesn’t kill Lino, given that following his dismissal from the force, Lino is no longer in a position to put Resz’s operation in jeopardy. Alvaro, on the other hand, can expose Resz in the future, which is why Resz sends Yuri to have him murdered along with the Spanish police accompanying him.

Lino meets with Julia, who offers her place to him to crash for a couple of days. Following Marco’s death, the Anti-Go Fast squad has been disbanded, and Captain Moss has faced heavy scrutiny by internal affairs, who are threatening her with consequences. Having no chance to go back to his old life and to spare Stella from the misery, Lino has decided to put his past behind him and go to Spain for a fresh start. Still, for old days’ sake, Lino wishes to take a look at the cars he modded for the Anti-Go Fast unit. Julia directs him to her friend, Sarah, a mechanic by profession (like Lino used to be), who has the vehicles stored at her garage. However, Lino wants to get his hands on a specific vehicle, Charas’ Renault 21 Turbo, which bears the memory of his old friend. Sarah reveals the Renault has been sent for dismantling already, prompting Lino to go and check it out at the junkyard. The junkyard owner mentions someone looking for the same vehicle and taking Charas’ Saint Christopher locket with him. As shown in Lost Bullet 2’s ending, it was Areski who bought a minivan from the junkyard owner and took Charas’ necklace, which he himself had given him. Listening to the junkyard owner’s words, Lino gets alarmed at once, and sensing Areski’s return, he calls Stella to ensure her safety before rushing off towards her place. 

Why Did Resz Betray Yuri?

Yuri becomes a bit worked up after Resz doesn’t pay heed to his suspicion that Areski might have survived, given their German contact has suddenly gone AWOL. Resz’s confidant/adviser, Cole, warns to keep Yuri in check, as he suspects his desperation can cost Resz, just like how it turned out with his trusted right-hand man, Areski. A flashback scene showing Marco’s interrogation by Moss reveals that Areski and Marco used to work under Resz when they were in the Spanish narcotics division, and Charas deliberately picked Areski to weaken Resz’s control. Areski had formed a bond with Charas and kept his arrangements with Resz intact, but ultimately, when things fell apart due to Lino’s involvement, Areski had to shoot Charas to death as a show of loyalty to Resz. At present, Resz is trying to become chief of narcotics by winning election and already has members of internal investigation in his pocket. However, to maintain good optics, Resz needs to distance himself from the likes of Yuri, who supposedly has a troubling past that doesn’t get revealed in the course of the movie. 

Areski meets with Stella and tries to convince her to leave with him, only for Yuri to arrive at the scene and start shooting at him. Areski flees, with Yuri chasing him, and Lino, already on his way to Stella’s place, intercepts them at a tram. An epic fight ensues between the trio in the tram, which ends with Lino delivering a brutal beatdown to both of them. However, Areski manages to flee still, and this time Julia rushes in pursuit after Lino’s car gets wrecked during the chase. On the other hand, Yuri manages to obtain Areski’s, which contains his passport and the drug money he kept stashed. As Yuri takes it to Resz, it becomes clear that Areski can’t escape any longer and will make a deal with Moss to snitch on Resz in exchange for protective custody. As Resz prepares his convoy to take down Areski, he orders his men to take care of Yuri. Resz doesn’t need him any longer, and his political ambition might get jeopardized due to Yuri’s presence.

Why Did Moss Betray Julia?

As assumed, Areski manages to take Julia as a hostage and calls Moss to strike a deal with her. Areski wants protection for himself and his family and a safe escape from the entire mess in exchange for testifying against Resz. Areski is sincere about it, given his desperation to meet with his son, Thomas, which becomes pretty apparent. Knowing that Resz will try everything at his disposal to capture Areski and given that police in France and Spain are already on his payroll, Areski suggests Moss and Julia take him to Germany, where Resz has minimal control. However, he mentions that if Lino gets involved, things can escalate to an unprecedented level and increase the risk of Resz capturing them. Moss decides to keep Lino in the dark and asks Julia to do the same. On the other hand, Lino tries to approach Stella, but given he too had abandoned her by going to prison after taking blame from Julia, she no longer wants to keep in touch with him. Julia initially considers keeping Lino in the dark but ends up revealing that she will transfer Areski to Germany. Lino returns to Sarah’s garage, and with her help, starts preparing to provide Julia additional security as he modifies a tow truck with anti-aircraft installation.

Meanwhile, Moss betrays Julia as she secretly makes a deal with Resz, disclosing the intel about Areski’s transfer with him in exchange for a place in the ministry. Moss came under heavy scrutiny by internal affairs previously for a massive botch-up during previous incidents involving Marco and Areski and was ordered to resign. To save her career, Moss ended up proving herself as the pathetic leader viewers always knew she was. 

What Happened to Areski at the End?

As Julia drives a heavily fortified van to the airfield where German operatives are waiting to take a captive Areski back to their country, she is attacked by Resz’s convoy—which includes some mean SUVs and a chopper. Lino, riding his modified tow truck, joins the party and manages to absolutely wreck the majority of the pursuing vehicles, including the chopper as well. There are some really unique and extremely entertaining action sequences involved in the final half of the movie. 

However, despite shaking off their tail, Julia and Lino get caught up in jeopardy as it is revealed that Resz has killed the German operatives already. Resz reveals Moss’ betrayal to Julia and shoots her, and bringing Areski out of the van, decides to kill him along with Lino. Almost a miracle rescue: Yuri, who survived the assassination attempt by Resz’s crooks, arrives at the scene just to shoot Resz to death before leaving as suddenly as he appeared. This gives Lino and Areski a chance to fend off the rest of the Resz’s men, and Areski tries to make a run for it by driving off. 

In Lost Bullet 3’s ending, Julia appears to have sustained no serious injury, as wearing a bulletproof vest, she didn’t sustain any major injury after getting shot by Resz. Ensuring that she is safe, Lino chases down Areski at the end. Julia meets Moss and promises to expose her, and a captive Areski watches in despair and agony as Stella takes Thomas away from him. Areski himself is to blame for everything that happened in his life, and he fully deserves to be abandoned by family. Lino takes the wrecked-up tow truck back to Sarah’s garage and hints at joining the force, taking Sarah into the Anti-Go Fast squad if the unit gets formed once again. Yuri, on the other hand, decides to pay a visit to Cole and kills him before taking the drug money and going scot-free. While there is no indication that the Lost Bullet series will continue with another entry, fans will surely remain curious as to what happens with Yuri after this. Perhaps he will settle for a good life, having enough resources to start a new page in any way he wants, or perhaps he will give in to his destructive tendencies and cross paths with Lino someday in the future.