The ending question.

I understood the symbolism behind his head rilling nine times, his eyes blinking 3 times, and smiling but what did he have to be happy or thankful for? His village was burned down, he didnt kill the enemy officer who ordered the massacre, and he's [presumably] leaving behind a wife and child. The director said something along the lines of "after seeing his village burn he was no longer afraid and was glad to die" but that seemed too simple. Part of me thinks it was a cop-out to have a cool ending execution. Any ideas?