Eastern Promises (2007)

A perfect gangster movie

It's such a simple, nearly cliched, mob story. But it's told here with a frankness and brutality that is something to behold. Not an uplifting tale, but a gritty tale that seems, as much as these things can to a random middle class American, realistic. The tattoos are remarkable as is the look at a very different (Russian) mafia. November 13, 2008

Every Picture Tells A Story...

Horror legend David Cronenberg (Rabid, Scanners, The Brood, Videodrome, etc.) teams up once more w/ A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE star Viggo Mortensen (The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, A Perfect Murder) to create the dark, underworld masterpiece, EASTERN PROMISES. Mortensen plays Nikolai, a russian mobster w/ a lifetime's worth of lethal experience to go along w/ his body full of prison tattoos. Nikolai is a seemingly ice-cold killer without conscience. Or is he? Midwife, Anna (Naomi Watts from The Ring 1 and 2, King Kong) is plunged into the russian-mafia world after a young mother dies, leaving behind a newborn daughter and a mysterious diary. PROMISES is packed w/ tension, horrific revelations, and a cast of iron-clad characters, including Vincent Cassel as the drunken, very dangerous Kirill, and Armin Mueller-Stahl as the quietly menacing Semyon. Even the minor characters are well-written. Don't miss this one!... November 6, 2008

Harsh, Sad, Enthralling, Beautifully Acted, Well-Written, Smartly Directed, Well-Paced...A WINNER!

Quick story snapshot~Begin with a neck-slashing murder, move to a hemorrhaging pregnant girl, who dies giving birth to a living baby girl covered in her mother's blood, and focus on the midwife who innocently takes the dead mother's diary (written in Russian)in an attempt to find the deceased's identity (so as not to bury her an unknown). The diary becomes the object that drives the midwife's journey into the dark world of the London Russian mob, where she connects with a stoic, formidable mob chauffeur played by Mortensen, who is not just a driver, we learn pretty fast. Human sex slavery, murder, loyalties, and betrayals all play their part before we find out the true nature of the various characters by film's end.

I had this film sitting around waiting to be watched. I wanted to watch it for 1. Viggo 2. Naomi (both among my fave actors) and 3. due tot he good reviews.

However, the reviews that emphasized gore and violence and "nekkidness" made me decide to wait for a day when a dark film wouldn't drag my mood down too badly. (Yeah, I can be really affected by films, from joyful to depressing.)

I wish I had not waited. The darkness and evil and pain is balanced to a large degree by elements of good and light and courage. It's not a movie that ends happily, but it is a movie that ends realistically and with some hope. Hope that if people take steps to make things right, some things can be made...more right, if not fully right. And that is an ending that doesn't depress me, but makes me feel great respect for people who do step out of comfort zones or take difficult jobs to make the world better. Or just to save one child.

It's the ending that I began with when I described to my husband how greatly this movie had appealed to me (and subsequently re-watched it with him). The climactic scene at the waterfront is so beautifully done--the acting has subtleties in body language and vocal tone (especially Viggo's, and I totally understand the Oscar nomination). The visual and editing--just so powerful and humane, even in the darkness and dirt and grit and horror of what has been and what could have been.

I cannot stress how amazing Mortensen is. His appearance has been altered by tons of hair spray and gel and clothing and tattos. He moves his body and makes little movements with his head that feel..authentic. He moves as if his secrets cloak him. His accent seems quite, quite good (but not being Russian, I can't say for 100% if it is dead-on).

Watts, who is normally such a scene-stealer, is a good match for him, but she doesn't reach his level here. Mortensen has simply absorbed this character too deeply, and he is much more interesting, nuanced, and haunted a character than Watt's. We can't look away when Viggo's Nikolai is onscreen. We are sure he will look ths way or that, tilt his head, smile just so, and give something away to us. Marvelous.

The supporting cast (for it's all supportive when Viggo is on) does a great job, including Vincent Cassell's father-dominated, vulnerable-meets-arrogant, repressed gay mobster son. The scene where he blows up party balloons--wow. His face is so full of pain and anxiety and uncertainty and a host of emotions as he speaks to his little girl that we can momentarily forget just how criminal and unfeeling he can be in other circumstances, and in forgetting, sympathize.

I also found rivetting the "made man" sort of scene, when the criminal leaders come to initiate Viggo--and the tattoos tell their story.

As I said, the last few scenes--the waterfront, the double denouement (Viggo's, Naomi's), overlaid with the voice of the dead girl reading the same lines we heard her say in the opening scenes: Wow.

And for those who like romantic tension, there is tons here. Viggo manages to be threatening looking and aloof and then, bam, he's connecting in the subtle ways with Naomi's character. It's a thrill to watch their scenes together because of the palpable attraction he gives off without being 'romance hero" obvious.

I want to give a special kudo to the writer who places so much foreshadowing--in seemingly trivial acts, in phrases--from the very start that come to fruition beautifully as the film moves to its final moments.

Cronenberg is a director who's entertained me in some films, annoyed me with others, grosssed me out with some. Now, with Eastern Promises, he finally made a movie that made me want to see it again...and a third time.

Mir

November 6, 2008

A great Russian mob movie.

EASTERN PROMISES takes place in England and is about a midwife (Naomi Watts) named Anna who discovers a diary that was left behind by a teenage mother who had given birth, but unfortunately passed away during childbirth. Since the baby survived, she was determined to get the diary (which is in Russian) translated so that she can find out who the baby's family is. However, the diary's translation along with a business card found in the diary eventually led her to the Russian mob. Armin Mueller-Stahl plays the mob boss, Vincent Cassel plays his son "Kirill", and Viggo Mortensen (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) plays "Nikolai", who starts off as a driver and assistant to Kirill and is also working his way up in the ranks.

Half of the film's plot is basically Anna trying to find the baby's family and how she sticks her nose where it doesn't belong. The other half of the plot deals with Nikolai's character, his involvement with the mob, and who he REALLY is. And as with most mob movies there are betrayals, executions, and a lot of FAMILY involvement.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed with EASTERN PROMISES but nonetheless I still liked it a lot. I was disappointed because going into it I thought it was going to be like a hardcore mob movie with a ton of violence and murder. I mean when you have a director like David Cronenberg, who's known for making bizarre horror and science fiction films, directing a mob movie, one could only expect a brutal film of epic proportions. What I ended up getting out of EASTERN PROMISES was something different. The film is actually more about life than it is death. But with that being said, I still did enjoy the movie a lot and I actually though it was better than the previous Cronenberg/Viggo Mortensen collaboration, A History of Violence (New Line Platinum Series). The film is a bit slow at times, but is still pretty interesting in that it gives you a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Russian mob, or ANY mob for that matter. The film also has a lot of great characters and a great cast. Viggo Mortensen plays the quiet, charming type of guy who's evil but still shows that he has a heart. Vincent Cassel plays the more obnoxious, vulgar, and dirty type of character. And Naomi Watts is just... Naomi Watts. Which is not a bad thing.

EASTERN PROMISES does deal with life and second chances, but it is still a violent film and doesn't let you forget what kind of movie you're watching. I think fans of David Cronenberg will really dig this movie and fans of A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE will like it also. But keep in mind that if you're looking for the type of brutality that A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE displayed, you won't find it here. So if you like great acting, mob movies, or are a Cronenberg fan, then I definitely recommend you check out EASTERN PROMISES. It won't change your life but it's still a well done film that's worth seeing. The great cast and plot twist toward the end will probably warrant a few repeated viewings.
(4.13/5) November 4, 2008

WHITE RUSSIAN

Viggo Mortensen and David Cronenberg are a match made it film heaven, this film follows on the heels of the great "The History of Violence", which was riviting as well. Cronenberg's movies can be almost hyper violent and this one has a harrowing scene in which a bare Mortensen does battle with two Ukranian thugs, I mean let's face it, this guys movies are not for the squimish. I like Watts and Mortensens chemistry, Viggo does dark and mysterious better than anyone in film, and Watts, though her character is unbelieveably naive, does her best with a sort of thankless role, this movie is really about Mortensen and his relationship to mob scion Kirill and to Russian mob boss, Mueller-Stahl, who is fantastic as usual, he's chilling as this family head, who dispises his son, Kirill, but yet cannot help but indulge him, he is his spawn afterall. The movie is set in the mysterious Russian underworld in modern day London and the city real adds character to the film. Eastern Promises gives an interesting look at the Russian mob, it's seeming obsession with Tatoos and its inner workings. The film takes some interesting turns and has a nice twist, really as in, "The History of Violence", this film rises and falls on the performance of Mortensen. Highly recommended, but not to the faint at heart. October 24, 2008

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