Eastern Promises Review

Eastern Promises is the new drama from director David Cronenberg, who last brought us A History of Violence. This film follows Anna (Naomi Watts), after she encounters a dying pregnant girl in the hospital she works. The girl leaves behind her newly-orphaned baby and a diary, to which Anna claims in order to gain some insight to her life and death. The diary is in a foreign language to her and she begins to have it translated. This curiosity gets her entangled in the seedy world of the Russian Mob, when she crosses paths with Nikolai played by Viggo Mortensen. Her live becomes increasingly endangered as she looks to uncover the truth of what's written in the diary.

Cronenberg did a great job of bringing brutal depictions of violence in a real world setting with his last film, and does so again here. I'm going to bet that David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen, who starred in A History Of Violence, will have a working relationship like that of Scorsese and Deniro. I can see here why he would choose to do so, as Mortensen gives one of his best performances as the mysterious gangster. His character is so layered, that you have no idea from one moment to the next what his real motivations are. Mortensen also does very well with his Russian accent, which could have proved distracting.


The supporting cast is great as well, especially in the case of Vincent Cassel (Derailed), who gives a great performance as the psychotic Kirill. Of all of the characters, his was hardest to figure out where they were going to go. It seemed at any moment he could go on a murderous rampage, and it's that energy in the film itself that makes it so interesting. The tense fight scene in a sauna between Viggo Mortensen and some mobsters is worth the price of admission. It shows a realism rarely shown in today's overblown movie fight scenes, without any kung-fu wires or corny dialog.

I'd highly recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of good, tense dramas, or a fan of Cronenberg's work. I'm excited to see where he takes us next. And I'm sure he'll bring Viggo with him.