Review of Eastern Promises (2007) by Stefano L — 13 Sep 2010

Masterpiece. David Cronenberg's picture "Eastern Promises" took me into the London underworld of the Russian Mafia. The early scenes in the film is startling but it's even more startling later on as a young woman is on the verge of dying with a baby waiting to be born.

Naomi Watts(a very fine actress) plays a young nurse who finds a diary that belonged to the young woman who died during childbirth. The Watts character sets out to find information about the young girl's family which leads her to a restaurant--meets a man named Semyon(Armin Mueller-Stahl).

At first Semyon looks like a humble man but deep down he runs a dangerous Mafia organization called vory v zakone("thieves in law") Semyon's driver is played by Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen's character looks very haunting and threatening with his hair slicked all the way back like Gordon Gekko and tattoo marks all over his body (Just like Max Cady in "Cape Fear") but plays low key, I wasn't sure what to make of him in the beginning.

Then there is another great performance by Vincent Cassel who plays a very creepy machoistic man who hangs out with Mortensen's character and specializes in sex trafficking. He is not someone to take lightly, basically witnessing a human animal on the run. Croenberg who seems to be a master at gore and violence portrays it realistically with brute honesty as Scorsese would for his pictures. There is a scene which takes place at a sauna that starts off normal but ends as a complete hammerblow, also through the middle of the film a protest takes place and a cocky kid starts to relieve himself at a gravesite only to...well you'll have to witness the scene for yourself.

Watts is the main character I admire above all because she is obsessive in finding the young baby's whereabouts and I really enjoy characters who have a obession, a crave within their souls. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to this picture so much. I wasn't really sure what to expect while watching "Eastern Promises" only to say that this picture sure got me. With great themes, characters, an unexpected plot twist(and it is one hell of a plot twist), the dark English locations all adds up to a fine piece of film work by David Croenberg.