Eastern Promises

Year of Release: 2007
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Rating: R for brutal violence, graphic sexuality, language and nudity.
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinead Cusack, Jerzy Skolimowski

Date Of Review: February 2008

David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen, the Director and star of “A History Of Violence” re-team for “Eastern Promises”, a riveting crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat right through to the final frame.  The film is a dark and grimy look at the Russian mafia. What makes it more than just a run of the mill mafia film is the intriguing way in which the story is told. It has a way of presenting itself that makes it astonishingly original. Its set in London, it focuses on the Russian mafia and its connection to a newborn baby. Sounds like a strange fit doesn’t it? The film is full of mystery and suspense and nothing is as straightforward as it seems. I don’t think I have seen another film quite like it. “Eastern Promises” certainly has an X factor and it’s something to do with its uniqueness in story and style. With “A History Of Violence” and now “Eastern Promises”, Director David Cronenberg has made two films that you could simply call filmmaking par-excellence.

The plot sees a young woman die while giving childbirth, the mid-wife (Naomi Watts) decides to care for the baby and while doing so stumbles upon the dead mother’s diary. The diary is all written in Russian but somehow Watts manages to connect the diary to a downtown restaurant. When Watts contacts the restaurateur for interpretation of the diary she realizes that she has made the biggest mistake of her life. It seems that the diary contains a number of incriminating entries relating to the owner of the Russian restaurant. It turns out that the restaurateur is part of a secret organization that is connected to the Russian underworld. As the story unfolds, Watts is suddenly confronted by an assortment of creepy characters and emotionally-charged situations that she has difficulty dealing with. To make matters worse the restaurant owner has a volatile son (Vincent Cassel) with psychotic tendencies. Add to that, the son’s bodyguard / chauffeur (Viggo Mortensen), a mysterious Russian hard-man that’s as cool as ice and able to intimidate anybody with a single glance.

This atmospheric crime drama is well cast, well acted and explicitly detailed.  If you are of the faint-hearted I certainly recommend that you look away in a few of the film’s grisly moments, but I am sure that if you give the film time and see it through to the end you will find that it is a captivating motion-picture experience. Viggo Mortensen puts in a masterful performance and has managed to make himself look and sound just like a Russian. He transforms himself into this character, just like Robert De Niro in some of his better work. Watts is great as the mid-wife, Armin Mueller-Stahl is intensely terrifying as the head of the mafia family, Vincent Cassel is disgustingly animalistic as his son Kiril, while Watt’s mother, Sinead Cusack and uncle, Jerzy Skolimowski are also solid in support.  These characters are not the sort of people that you would want to invite over to your house as dinner guests but this dark and dangerous underworld, when viewed from a far, will work its spell on you and by the end you will be glad you went on the journey.

In its final third, the film has some neat twists and turns, not to mention an explicit bathhouse sequence that will leave you breathless.  Be prepared as the bloody bathhouse scene is certainly one of the most violent but at the same time realistic confrontations you will ever see in a film. Its absolute savagery and explicit nature makes it a daring scene for Mortensen and one that I am sure will be remembered by his fans. While the violence in “Eastern Promises” is sure to make you cringe, it’s the captivating storyline that will keep you watching.  I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say that “Eastern Promises” will hold you in its clutches until the very end. “Eastern Promises” is a film that is masterfully brought to life by a filmmaker at the top of his game, although I often wonder sometimes…. does it all have to be this graphic?

© Copyright Pick Of The Flicks. All rights reserved.

Viggo Mortensen DVD Collection - Now Available:
Click here for Viggo Mortensen Movies on DVD

Naomi Watts DVD Collection - Now Available:
Click here for Naomi Watts Movies on DVD

Vincent Cassel DVD Collection - Now Available:
Click here for Vincent Cassel Movies on DVD

David Cronenberg DVD Collection - Now Available:
Click here for David Cronenberg Movies on DVD

Pick Of The Flicks - Recommended Links:
Viggo Mortensen at Hollywood Cult Movies
Naomi Watts at Hollywood Blonde Bombshells

Cinematic Tough Guys at Hollywood Cult Movies
Hollywood Gangsters at Hollywood Cult Movies
Tony's Cult Movies, Blockbusters & Classics

Pick Of The Flicks Blog Spot / Messageboard:
Click here to have your say or see what others are saying

Use the search bars below to search our site, find your favorite movie or find your favorite poster:

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.pickoftheflicks.com