Eastern Promises shocked me because when I saw it first time I was thinking it’s just another crime movie but its not movie it is cinema. I love Russian crime based flicks, it is above all, one of the best crime thriller. I admire Viggo Mortensen his persona & his versatility makes him great actor atleast for me & David Cronenberg for his direction just not for this movie overall his career.Eastern Promises could well have been an absolutely conventional thriller if it had not in his favour, two important elements, a safe & fascinating direction by David Cronenberg, & the enthralling performance of Viggo Mortensen.Written by Steven Knight, the film begins with two distressing scenes, the bloody execution of a subject in a barbershop & weak bloody young Tatiana in the early stage of pregnancy.
She was taken to hospital, she dies in childbirth, leaving the nurse Anna (Watts) moved by the situation of orphaned baby. Firm to find some clue that might expose the whereabouts of relatives of the child, the girl takes the diary of the Tatiana, written in Russian, that his uncle Stepan, also an immigrant, to translate but he refuses, she finds out a card of restaurant she plans to visit it. However, after visiting a restaurant that might have some connection with the dead girl, Anna provokes the attention of dark Semyon (Mueller-Stahl), whose gentlemen behaviour hides a violent & cruel nature who is boss of mafia Vory v Zakone, later Anna’s uncle read it & tells her that Semyon & his son is responsible for the death of Tatiana. Semyon fears that the daily compromises & decides to rescue himself & his son, counting on help from his son Kirill (Cassell) & of a chauffeur cum bodyguard , the mysterious Nikolai (Mortensen).
Returning to demonstrate interest in the criminal underworld in London and the complex relationship of immigrants with that universe, as it has in the great Dirty Pretty Things, screenwriter Steven Knight this time betting on a less elaborate plot, which focuses more on the dynamics between the characters of that turnaround - although these also exist here. Thus, the film portrays as a kind of Semyon Don Corleone much less ethical or smart, focusing on their clear dissatisfaction with the son, successor, who believes weak and unreliable, weighing in his opinion, too, a clear distrust of the homosexual tendencies of the subject (something unforgivable to someone like Semyon). Moreover, the relationship with Kirill Nikolai is full of doubt, while demonstrating confidence in a friend, Kirill not hesitate to treat him as a maid any, feeling pleased apparently clear rule that creature so dangerous.And dangerous is a metaphor to describe Nikolai adopting a striking characterization that leaves no room for delicacy, making it even more fascinating by its magnificence, Viggo Mortensen turns once again, showing his fall by the method advocated by acting as interpreters ranging from Marlon Brando Edward Norton, De Niro & Meryl Streep. Thus, the accent, the hair cut and styled the numerous extensive tattoos became symbols of the personality of his character, his mannerisms as well as atypical (exemplified by the scene in which Nikolai erase cigarettes in the language). However, showing a smart balance in its composition, Mortensen also hits the minimalism of certain moments, as when displaying a surprising expression of boredom while performing a particularly bizarre.
The brilliance of his performance, also arises in the subtle way that suggests something decent in the character of Nikolai, when he asks the real name of a Tatiana, for example, he shows a curious interest & apparently incompatible with a individual who had seen until then as someone terribly cold and cruel & this creates an interesting counterpoint to the performance of Armin Mueller-Stahl, doing the opposite, with Semyon as a gentle soul who gradually reveals himself as a monster. And if Vincent Cassel adds a weak kind of character unsympathetic to his gallery of characters, Naomi Watts did not have to work hard to turn Anna into a decent woman who finds himself plunged into a situation for which it was prepared.
Building a climate of unrest that keeps insecure about what comes next, the filmmaker David Cronenberg does not disappoint creating explosive moments of sudden violence that shocked by the rawness with its graphic nature. At the same time, steeped in shades of photography Peter Suschitzky, his former partner, helps to transform Eastern Promises an uncomfortable experience properly to the public & the fight scene in the bathhouse is now a reference of its kind since Mortensen that the vulnerability is enhanced not only for its nudity, but the choreography and realistic & direct the assembly dry. Mind blowing scene. The character of Nikolai is a wonderful tragic figure of a man whose own soul was sold and broken decades ago and now all that remains is a shell holding a twisted soul. Cronenberg hardly ever draws kindness for Nikolai in spite of his dignity, he is in fact an evil man, & writer Steven Knight certainly not pretends otherway, as well, Cronenberg never confuses the two values of good & bad Cronenberg asks to observe the character of Nikolai rise to power in his brotherhood however display an enormous sense of mercy & pitty, when a truly pure woman seeks to save the soul of a child, born from bloodshed and violence. Eastern Promises examines the two shades of morals and places the newborn child in between them examining their motives. All actors are great especially Viggo & Vincent cruel childish he performed well. Naomi is unfortunate never gets applaud that she deserves. The old man is also great as father & boss of Russian mafia. Great cinematography to capture each individuals emotion with good dialogues.
After History of Violence the trio of actor, director, writer delivers a beautiful crime mystery cinema. Watch it with blue ray for some extra scenes. Love or hate it can’t ignore it.
Establishing a curious narrative rhyme, it invests a finding that reveals a strange vagueness beneath its apparent adaptation to the convention of happy end, referring also to the beautiful end of the previous work of double Cronenberg-Mortensen, A History of Violence. Considering the results of this partnership, they deliver a gorgeous bloody cinema. I loved the tattoos. 10 I have not same one from Vinny’s.