Review of EASTERN PROMISES

December 11, 2007

This is Director David Cronenberg's follow-up to "A History of Violence." Once again, he composes an exposition on the subject matter of violence, and likewise, he extracts an electrifying performance from his star Viggo Mortensen by delving deeper in that vein.

This time around, Cronenberg brings us into the world of the Russian crime organizations in London. We are taken there by Anna (Naomi Watts), a midwife, as she looks for relatives of a 14 year old girl who dies in childbirth under her care. The girl leaves a diary written in Russian which leads Anna right into the web.

Through Anna, we meet the major players in that Russian underground: a deceptive restaurant owner-crime boss Semyon (Armin Mueller Stahl), his psychologically-disturbed son (Vincent Cassel) and their stoic driver Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen). With this story as background, the movie proceeds to delve right into the underbelly of the subculture where these protagonists live their depraved lives.

The acting is of very high caliber. Armin Mueller Stahl is a familiar name because he was once an Oscar nominee (for Best Supporting Actor in "Shine"), but I have never really seen him. This is a showcase role for him, and most likely will get him another nomination at least. Vincent Cassel chews scenery in another role reminiscent of his role in "Derailed" of a psychotic criminal. Naomi Watts underplays her naive role and lets the actors outshine her, yet she is still quietly effective in her own way.

But the star of the film is really Viggo Mortensen. He is really very convincing as the astute and confident driver who climbs up the ranks in the Russian mafia. He was as effective in his scenes of gore and violence, as he was in tender scenes with Naomi Watts (and Vincent Cassel!). As he can project a genuine sense of evil and dread, he can similarly show sincerity and concern. Certainly, that controversial bloody Turkish bathhouse fight scene would most likely be talked about for years to come.

This film would not be easy for everyone to watch. The violence and gore levels are high. But being very interesting and rare trip down the Russian underground, plus the tour-de-force acting, makes this film a definite must see. As I said about "The Departed" last year (coincidentally another gangster film), this may be the first potential Oscar Picture nominee I have seen this year.