oof those strings sound kinda harsh; especially when drawn out. Try Squidfont Orchestral...look it up google or something. And yeah this is uber minimalist, i'm sorry but I'm not getting any dramatic feeling cuz the string is pretty ugly. Usually I'm OVERLY friendly when reviewing stuff, but I think you ought to know: ya got quite a ways to go my friend, like me >_<.
You've got potential, and you're not tone deaf, from what I can tell here - so you've got a BIG thing going for you there , keep at it dude, find better samples and add more support melodies/instruments in there. Don't let our criticism put you down - I used to always go emo over this stuff, but I got over it. Trust me, if you listen to what we're saying you'll improve tremendously. I'm still in your shoes, but every day I get a little bit better.