It's funny, but I find it ironic you are using that video opposite to what it is intended. Saying "Java is hands down faster" without proof isn't any different than saying "Node.js will run circles around Java" without any proof.
It is because Java is like PHP. it is synchronous. If your app is doing a lot of non-cpu stuff, it makes complete sense to use an async programming model.
Java is hands down faster.
I have never seen a benchmark that showed Node coming even close to Java performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzkRVzciAZg