Eastern Promises
EASTERN PROMISES: RUTHLESS DRAMA
Eastern Promises is David Cronenberg’s tale of the Russian mob in London. It is unabashedly violent with an outstanding performance from Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence, Lord of the Rings) that screams Oscar. It will make its audience look away in some scenes and hold its breath in others. Cronenberg continues with his violence for violence sake but this story is more humanistic than his previous films.
Anna (Naomi Watts) is a midwife at a hospital who has just pronounced a 14 year old girl dead. The girl delivered a baby girl before dying. Anna finds a diary in the girl’s personal items. It is in Russian. She asks her Russian uncle to translate it so she can contact the girl’s family. The diary leads her to a restaurant ran by the Vory V Zakone. They are the Russian mafia. She encounters their driver, Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen). She doesn’t know if she should trust him. She uncovers things they have done that they don’t want found out. She races to save the baby.
The story is reminiscent of The Sopranos with some predictable elements. It goes into depth with the rules and traditions of the Vory V Zakone, the Russian mob of thieves. Viggo Mortensen has shown that he is the go to guy for Cronenberg. He makes you question if he is Russian or not, his accent is so realistic. The whole cast are great in their own right. Vincent Cassel (Ocean’s Thirteen, Derailed) is the Mafioso son who just wants to please his father. He is sad as a man who is hiding his true self. Naomi Watts holds her own as Anna, not surprisingly. Carnage is Cronenberg’s forte, with this movie being no different. Look out for the fight scene in the Bath House. Its violence is cringe worthy.
You could see some things coming in regards to the storyline and how it would end. The movie wrapped up almost too neatly, which isn’t the norm for Cronenberg.
Even though it threatens too, violence doesn’t completely overshadow the story in Eastern Promises. Viggo Mortensen is the noteworthy performance to lookout for. Cronenberg and Mortensen obviously work well together. Both bring out the best in each other.
Report Card:
Story-B
Acting-A
Visuals-B
Originality/Innovation-B
Enjoyability Grade–B
DVD Extras-C-
Overall Grade-B
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