Film Review/DVD Review

Title: Eastern Promises

Distributor: Focus Features

Producers: Robert Lantos, Paul Webster

Director: David Cronenberg

Principal Actors: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinead Cusak

Film Release: September 14^th, 2007

Film Length Rating: 100 Minutes

Rating: R - For Violence, Nudity and Language

4 ½ Stars

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey

Films by David Cronenberg are not for the faint of heart; but if you can get passed the violence and actually watch the film as a whole and its commentary on violence, then you are able to watch a Cronenberg film and enjoy. In fact, the last film Cronenberg directed called A History Of Violence, also starring Viggo Mortensen was a direct appeal I thought could not be topped in the breadth and length of the director's ever accumulating resume. Well, A History Of Violence is still my favourite Cronenberg film, but Eastern Promises, his newest feature casting Mortensen in the lead a second time, does appear to be examining the further complexities of the world of violence in which we live. Let it be clearly stated that I don't believe Cronenberg actually has more of an obsession with violence then most anglophiles, but I do believe he is someone, more willing than most, to take a microscope to it and analyze its principles and philosophies.

With that said, Eastern Promises is the story of a mysterious fourteen year old girl who leaves behind a diary wrote in Russian after dying in childbirth. Tatiana is a girl who has been trafficked into London, England and her imprisoners have raped her and she leaves behind a trail to follow with a daughter and the diary. Anna (Naomi Watts) is a midwife in the hospital that Tatiana is submitted into and she takes a vested interest in the young girls` life before she died. As Anna does not speak Russian she requests that her Uncle, who does speak Russian, translate the diary. At his refusal, she searches out someone who would, found via a card inside Tatiana's diary for a Trans-Siberian restaurant in London. When Anna goes to the restaurant, she meets the owner Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), his son Kirill (Vincent Cassel) and `the chauffeur` Nicolai (Viggo Mortensen). Anna is soon to realize that these men are connected to Tatiana in ways she could not comprehend, and the diary is a direct lead to their mishandlings of Tatiana. The newborn is a liability, the diary is a liability and now Anna is making herself and those around her a liability as well.

Eastern Promises deals with human trafficking, the Russian Mafia's still viable presence within society (specifically the vory v zakone `law of thieves`), and an interlaced and delicately balanced counter-culture that nice girls like Anna have no concept of in base reality. The viewer feels empathy through Anna, as she is a character driven by her desire to do right and be forthright. Nicolai appears to have a good side, but he also appears to be more involved within the vory v zakone then first imagined. Nicolai and Anna's relationship is built on trust and emotional connection without the late night rendezvous. However, other relationships are equally strong, as Nicolai builds a cagey but almost brotherly relationship between himself and Kirill. It is Armin Mueller-Stahl`s patriarchal Mafioso, with foils of Marlon Brando or Robert De Niro previous father's of crime rings, that is outstanding. The international cast is a great asset as these are all craftsman within the field of film, within their own countries and also known for being so on the international circuit. Viggo Mortensen is as unabashed as ever, which always seems to bring a pragmatic vulnerability to all his performances, especially those roles within Cronenberg films.

The film also dives into a great study of Russian Mafia tradition and mythology regarding tattooing; which represents a person's whole life history, documented on the flesh. Eastern Promises begged the question how we are perhaps similar in how we portray ourselves to others, or if we were tattooed with our lives, would that make us more or less free? A great scene exists in a sauna where Nicolai fights two assassins; the tattoos play as much a role in that scene as any of the actors. Incredibly well shot and poignant by the skill set of Cronenberg. If you are faint of heart, I wouldn't recommend this film; but if you are looking for a worthwhile observation of violence and humanity (or the lack of at times), then this is a great film to watch.