This is one of the first songs that inspired me to dabble in orchestral music so I still like to listen to it sometimes. I'm happy you republished it :D
From my experience, it's extremely difficult and rare to create a melody that's as moving and powerful as this one. The orchestration is phenomenal, and although the song builds up to the climax in a sense, each second is pleasurable enough to listen to that I'm not waiting for it.
My favorite instruments in the song are the double basses. They provide an earthly vibe and greatly enhance the emotional appeal.
I read the judges' reviews and have to say that I disagree with the criticism that the build up is too long or not stimulating enough. Absolutely no part of the song feels remotely extraneous to me. The comments regarding the chord progression and harmonization confuse me even more because that could kill the song's identity and turn it into something not befitting of the title.
I know a lot of time has passed, but I hope you make more music like this :)