This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 10:32 pm and is filed under Drama, Mob, Crime and Scam Movies, NEW ON VIDEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortenson, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mina E. Mina
It’s Brutal. It’s dark, and it’s maginficent. Director David Cronenberg teams up with Viggo Mortenson, as he did in the less impressive History of Violence. Writer Steven Knight, Oscar nominee for his 2004 Dirty Pretty Things screenplay, outdoes himself here with this gritty story that is aided by outstanding acting performances, particularly by Mortenson in his best performance thus far, and by the skilled veteran Armin Mueller-Stahl (himself as Oscar nominee for Shine). The 2007 Oscar race is underway and Eastern Promises is storming out of the gate.
Viggio Mortenson shows his acting dedication as he delivers his lines in Russian, playing a Russian mafia associate named Nikolai. Nickolai is the driver for Kirill (Vincent Cassel), who is the son of powerful mob boss, Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl). The story takes place in London and starts when midwife, Anna (Naomi Watts) delivers the baby of a dying teen and sets out to have her Russian-language diary translated to discover her identity. This soon leads her to the Russian community of London, and into contact with some very dangerous men. I found the ending a little unsatisfying, though my companion disagreed (she usually does). What do you think?
Eastern Promises is an excellent film with great performances, a top-notch story and scenes that are alternately absorbing, shocking and subtle that should provide some mantle piece ornamentation for those involved. Imagine The Departed with Russian gangsters and without dueling cops and you will have some idea of what to expect here. This is one of the strongest movies of 2007. Don’t miss it.
