Eastern Promises

By Jenny Siddle
September 21, 2007

Remember the days when walking out of a David Cronenberg movie without witnessing either genital mutilation, a masturbatory car crash fetish, or at least one exploding head, would have left you feeling more than a little unsatisfied? Meet the David Cronenberg of the new millennium. Fresh off of winning the People's Choice Award at last week's Toronto International Film Festival, Cronenberg is back in theatres today with Eastern Promises. As was the case with his last feature, A History of Violence, Cronenberg wears only the "director hat" for his current film as opposed to assuming the writer/director role that has defined him throughout most of his career. Perhaps this could explain why his two latest films tell far more (dare I say it?) "box office friendly" stories than the morbidly twisted tales that made him famous (i.e. Videodrome, The Fly, and Dead Ringers). But before you start throwing around "sell out" slander in the name of the popular Canadian director, whether you love him, hate him, or flat out just don't understand him, I really can't see how one could walk out of Eastern Promises disappointed.

This Canada/US/UK co-production, set in London, follows the plight of the insatiable Anna, (Naomi Watts) a desperate midwife trying to locate the family of an orphaned newborn girl. Anna's only link in helping her uncover the lineage of the deceased mother is her diary, written in Russian. Anna mistakenly entrusts Semyon (Academy Award nominated Armin Mueller-Stahl), the leader of one of London's most notorious organized crime families, with the translation of the diary. When Semyon discovers his own family's scandalous ties to the baby, he attempts to kidnap and kill the newborn as a cover-up, thrusting the naive Anna and her family into a crossfire of lies, betrayal, and life-threatening danger. Determined to shield the baby from the hands of the Vory V Zakone brotherhood, Anna plummets far over her head into a criminal world she knows nothing about. Having no other choice, Anna finds an unlikely ally in Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), the Vory's mysterious but loyal driver.

Viggo Mortensen's performance alone warrants the price of admission AND a bag of popcorn. Not only does Mortensen nail the Russian accent, but he pulls off, hands-down, the most memorable fight scene I have ever seen on-screen. I won't spoil any details here, but I will say that I can't even imagine how carefully this had to be shot. You'll understand exactly what I mean upon seeing the film.

Eastern Promises delivers all of the conventions you would expect to see in a mob movie - violence, betrayal, deceit, and well-dressed men driving expensive cars. Yet what made this film stand out in comparison to others in its genre was what it lacked. Now I'll need a second viewing to back up this statement, but I'm quite sure I did not see a single gun in the entire movie. I cannot tell you how refreshing that is. That is not to say there is any lack of bloodshed throughout, but what is there is strategically placed and not excessive enough to desensitize us, as is often the case with gangster films (think Scorsese). But believe me, Cronenberg does not spare us with the violence he chooses to show. The director is known for his sharp attention to detail, especially regarding things sure to make humans uncomfortable, and the few gore scenes here are no exception - definitely not for the squeamish.

While there is nothing particularly ground breaking or mind-altering about this film, Eastern Promises is a well written, convincingly acted, and brilliantly directed movie. Definitely worth 96 minutes of your time.

Wide Release Date: September 21, 2007
Running Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Director: David Cronenberg
Producers: Robert Lantos, Paul Webster, and Tracey Seaward
Executive Producers: Stephen Garrett and Kahli Small
Screenplay: Steven Knight
Director of Photography: Peter Suschitzky
Editor: Ronald Sanders
Music: Howard Shore