Mirror Wars: Reflection One is a post-cold-war thriller from the Russian point of view. Bad-guy British arms dealer Murdock (Malcolm McDowell) and numerous mercenaries and clandestine agents tries to steal a new Russian stealth fighter. Murdock is foiled by the hero, a patriotic Russian fighter-jet pilot who was recently branded a potential traitor because of his romantic fling with an alleged American ecologist. She was actually a shadowy intelligence operative before her untimely assassination in her lover's arms. The real brains of the operation is the Mysterious Man (Rutger Hauer) who makes several appearances at opportune moments. He controls numerous independent agents, including Murdock himself, the female American ecologist, and a host of super-tough mercenaries.

The film shows highly-technical closeups of jet fighters in close-order flying. Special effects include explosions, live-action closeup satellite imagery, and views from inside the flying jets. The fighting and filming action covers several locations from the Eurasian landmass, and includes militia personnel with several distinct costumes.

The American and British intelligence agents are portrayed as bumbling, though trusted, allies. The US Air Force does pull through at the last moment and do their part to help save the day by helping stop a traitorous pilot who wants to shoot down the President of the USA on Air Force One. The traitor is a copilot who has drugged the pilot during a trade show demonstration. The heroic pilot is the underdog Russian pilot given this last chance to fly at a trade show to substitute for one of two other murdered pilots. The hero awakes from his drugged sleep moments before the US President is shot from the sky, and manages to take control of the jet from the traitor. In the last moments of the film the hero's loyalty to his jet causes him to fly it to safety rather than easily jettison during a nearly-fatal tailspin.