Review of Eastern Promises (2007) by Filipeneto — 23 Jul 2021

I confess that I expected less from this movie. I really like movies set in the mob world, but the Russian mob was something I had rarely seen on film before. This film is very good at immersing us in that universe, and David Cronenberg was happy in the way he carried out this project, a little out of his usual record.

The film follows a London nurse, Anna, on her quest to find out more about the young mother of a baby she saw born, who appears to have been a prostitute from the East. The essential clues will come from a diary, kept by the teenager, which will link her to a respectable and wealthy Russian family, residing in London, who are behind a powerful branch of the Russian mafia in the United Kingdom. The script, engaging and intelligent, seems credible and logical most of the time, and manages to engage the audience and instigate our curiosity. One thing I particularly have to praise is the recurrent use of Russian and Ukrainian in the film, a feature that may confuse the minds of Anglophone audiences, but which I found excellent, appropriate and intelligent, insofar as the actors did it well, without it ever sounding fake or forced. The highlight of the film is the action scenes, and particularly the fight in the Turkish baths, starring Mortensen. From there, the film continues and maintains our interest, but it fails to give us something as intense or exciting.

For me, and if we exclude the films from the "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" trilogies, this is the biggest and best film in Viggo Mortensen's career so far. I also liked his work on "Hidalgo", but I think he surpassed it here. I don't know how far his character was supposed to have the charisma he gave him, but Mortensen was able to dominate the film with a magnetic, powerful and intriguing performance. Another actor who did an excellent job was veteran Armin Mueller Stahl, in the role of the family patriarch who is the center of this film. He seems affectionate and kind, refined and very courteous, but he hides a dark, brutal and cynical side. Initially, I found Vincent Cassel a bit one-dimensional with his character too brutal and violent, but I believe the actor knew how to work that out and effectively solve the problems that the character posed to him. Paradoxically, and despite being the main character par excellence, it's Naomi Watts who went out of her way in this film, with a character who seems to be limited to following the flow of information and who doesn't seem to have much else to do in the movie. Still a word for the good work of Sinéad Cusack and Jerzy Skolimowski, as Anna's parents.

Technically, it's a film that has many points of interest, starting with a well-placed and regular pace, through elegant cinematography and a judicious choice of filming locations. Visually, it's a beautiful movie that is pleasing to the eye. The sound also works very well, and the visual, specials and sound effects, punctually placed, are of quality and work well. The costumes and sets are very good, but they are within an expected standard, and the soundtrack, written by Howard Shore, didn't sound as good as I could demand in a film with so many qualities.