I also enjoyed the film, but as several people wrote in the User Comments section, this film should not be taken as a literal history of the Church. MUCH creative license was taken with many important Church principles. (This, in my opinion, was not done maliciously, but viewers should be aware of it.)
While it's likely that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young had such a discussion about the United Order, it's unlikely that the discussion occured within the first minutes of them meeting each other (as portrayed in the film).
But on to your questions.
The United Order *did* come by revelation to Joseph Smith. As revealed it was a voluntary and divinely perfect way to put Matthew 23:12 into practice:
"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."
The *extremely* abridged version of the United Order is that all Church members were to make their livings as they normally would. They would then consecrate all that they owned to the Church, and the Church would provide for their needs and wants. While this may sound a lot like communism or egalitarianism, the key difference is that the principle of private property is retained.
It required an incredible amount of faith to live under this system. Many that that had more wealth gave all they had, receiving back, by definition, only what they needed to "make do." I understand why that might not be an easy thing to do.
So yes, people did become selfish and envious, and when it became clear that it could not continue, the Lord suspended the United Order. Notice I didn't write "revoked." We fully expect that someday, perhaps even after Christ returns to the earth, it will be reinstituted. We still live the law of consecration *in part,* donating 10% of our income in tithing, and serving in church positions without financial compensation.
If the film *were* an accurate history of the Church, your "sneaky suspicion" would be correct. However, please keep in mind that the timeline in the film is extremely compressed. In reality, Joseph Smith was killed in June of 1844. It wasn't until August, when the twelve apostles (including Brigham) returned from their eastern missions, that the Quorum of the Twelve (and by association, Brigham as the quorum president) was chosen to lead the Church. Then, it was another 20 months (20 months!) in February of 1846, that the westward exodus began. It was more than a full year later when Brigham Young was ordained as the President of the Church.
Brigham Young was *not* unsure about the move west. He had heard Joseph Smith say that the Saints would move west and become a great civilization. He learned his leadership and colonizing skills from the prophet himself, having sat at his feet during the founding of Kirtland, Far West, and Nauvoo; and he knew by revelation that it was what the Church had to do.
Finally-- You could likely find members of the Church that hold virtually any political or social viewpoint. There are probably not many anarchists, as the philosophy foundationally runs contrary to basic church doctrines; but there are republicans, democrats, populists, libertarians, conservatives, liberals, traditionalists, progressives. The important thing to keep in mind here is that *except* in situations where morality is in question (think Prop 8 in California) the Church is absolutely committed to strict neutrality. This principle is repeated, over the pulpit, every year on the Sunday before election day.
I didn't intend for this to be so long, but I hope I answered your questions.
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