Eastern Promises

**** (4 stars)

Eastern Promises (2007)
Genre: Crime/Drama
100 minutes - R rating
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl

Brief Plot: Anna (Watts) is a midwife in a London hospital when a young woman arrives in labor one day then dies after the childbirth. The woman leaves only a baby and a diary written in Russian behind. Anna takes the diary hoping to find answers. When Semyon (Mueller-Stahl), owner of a local Trans-Siberian resteraunt agrees to help her translate the diary, Anna has no idea that she is crossing ground with one of the Vory V Zakone's Russian crime families. The diary contains evidence incriminating Semyon's son Kirill (Cassel) of crimes. Viggo Mortensen is Nikolai, who is "just the driver" for the crime family and holds many dark secrets. What will happen as more of the diary and the characters is brought into the light?

Best Audience: Eastern Promises is directed by David Cronenberg who has a very unique style. Cronenberg is known for his extremely graphic violence, and Eastern Promises is no exception. In addition the film contains a fairly graphic sexual scene with upper female nudity. Also the most famous scene in the movie involves a very violent fight in a bathhouse in which Mortensen is completely nude which is noticeable in a few fleeting shots. There is also a regular amount of profanity. If none of these things turn you away and you enjoy good storytelling, great acting, and gangster movies, you should fit right in.

My Review: Eastern Promises is another triumph for David Cronenberg. Teaming up again with his A History of Violence lead man Viggo Mortensen Cronenberg delivers a dark and thrilling piece of work. Mortensen (who fully deserves the Oscar nomination he received for his role) is the best part of the movie and both his believable Russian accent and his brilliant portayal of Nikolai are the highlight of the film. Watts, Cassel and Meuller-Stahl all hand in good performances and Howard Shore's score is excellent. I personally find Cronenberg's action and style very thrilling and artful but others may be turned away by the vivid and detailed violence. He really pushes the limit. As far as the bathhouse fight, I guarantee it will leave you speechless. Eastern Promises is well made and well-performed, so I believe it deserves four stars. It is certainly not a movie that appeals to a wide demographic, but Cronenberg will continue to stick to his style, whether you love or hate it.