Eastern Promises (Widescreen Edition)
by David Cronenberg
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Naomi Watts, Sinéad Cusack, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent CasselDirector: David Cronenberg
Brand: Eastern
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); English (Published)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-12-23
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Product features:
- DVD
- Widescreen
- 1hr, 41 min.
- Bonus Features -Secrets and Stories, Marked for Life
- Rated "R"
Movie Reviews of Eastern Promises (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: Written in Blood
Summary: 5 Stars
Many violent films have been made, but David Cronenberg is one of the few directors who can capture violence at its most raw and shocking. His newest film, "Eastern Promises," depicts violence that's so brutal, I found myself ensnared in its grasp. For its heavy-handed subject matter and disturbing scenarios, this is easily one of the year's most engrossing films, an intense character-driven story of style, precision, and astonishing depth. Within the first five minutes, a man's throat is slashed while sitting in a barber's chair; already, we're anxious to learn what has happened, why it's happened, and what may come of it. There's a thrilling air of mystery to this film that pulls no punches, forcing the audience onto an emotional roller coaster of extreme speeds and perilous heights.
Taking place in London at Christmastime, the story begins when a pregnant Russian teenager walks into a local pharmacy--she soon begins hemorrhaging and is immediately rushed off to a hospital. She unfortunately dies, but the attending midwife, Anna (Naomi Watts), is able to save the baby. She then finds the young girl's diary, and while she's unable to read Russian, she does find the business card of a Russian restaurant. Anna goes to this restaurant hoping to find some answers. She meets Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), the middle aged owner. Right away, something doesn't seem right about this man; while he is accommodating, he's also detached and monotone, as if he has something to hide. These impressions get stronger when watching him react to the girl's diary. Nonetheless, Anna does need someone to translate. She'd rather not rely on her Russian uncle, Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski), who has an uncanny ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.
As Anna's search intensifies, the more unsettling the truth becomes. As a godfather for the vory v zakone--a ruthless sect of the Russian mafia--Semyon is active in an underground sex trade, one that forces Eastern European teenage girls into a life of prostitution and drugs. Semyon's son, Kirill (Vincent Cassel), is the family's enforcer, and his hotheaded arrogance is second only to his issues with his father. There's no question that he's a cold-blooded killer, yet it's quite possible that some degree of compassion is lurking somewhere underneath. When and where this side of him is revealed, I dare not say, but it effectively shows that even a member of organized crime is not beyond redemption.
The same can't be said for Semyon, whose true nature is venomous and disgusting. This is probably why Kirill is friendlier with the driver, Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), a mysterious man aiming to become a full member of the vory v zakone family. A member shows his allegiance by getting his body covered with tattoos, the most important being a set of stars on both shoulders and both knees (a symbolic way of saying that he'll never bow down to anyone). According to a London detective, the tattoos of a Russian mobster tell a life story; I find this interesting, considering that the film's tagline--"Every sin leaves a mark"--is thrown into the mix.
Nikolai's life gets complicated when he crosses paths with Anna, who continues to pursue the Russian girl-mystery even as it gets dangerous. One gets the sense that she and Nikolai have an unspoken, unconscious understanding between them, in which one can acknowledge the other as a person instead of as a label. This isn't to say that Anna is trustful or unafraid of Nikolai--her eyes give away the fear, regret, and pain of the entire situation, not the least of which comes from Nikolai's involvement in her life. But his emotions run just as high, as he finds his loyalties divided between the vory v zakone and Anna. It doesn't help that war is immanent with a rival mafia family, and it shows its ugly side during an especially uncomfortable scene in which Nikolai is attacked at a bathhouse.
Weaving throughout the film is narration of the Russian girl, whose name was Tatiana (voiced by Tatiana Maslany); as she reads passages from her diary in English, both Anna and the audience get a much clearer picture of what happened to her and of just how horrible her circumstances were. At a certain point, Anna's affection for the baby grows strong, putting her life in even greater danger. It also endangers the life of her uncle, who understands just how dangerous a family the vory v zakone is. The more he translates from Tatiana's diary, the less comfortable he is letting Anna delve further into the mystery.
For whatever it's worth, it was a mystery I couldn't help but delve into. "Eastern Promises" has the kind of magnetic power few films have; it's a harsh, brooding thriller of impressive character, with a thought-provoking story and top-notch performances. This is especially true of Viggo Mortensen, whose performance is so believable that he practically disappears into the role. This is a fascinating, well-executed film--one of the year's best.
Summary of Eastern Promises (Widescreen Edition)
Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, mystery and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Eastern Promises, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmastime in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie--an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enforcer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight also wrote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the movie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely shocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence--nobody will cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humor, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Mortensen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a true, haunting mystery man. --Robert Horton
Stills from Eastern Promises (click for larger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.
 Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
|  Armin Mueller-Stahl (center) stars in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release. |  Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg?s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release. |
 Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg?s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release. |  Naomi Watts stars in David Cronenberg's new thriller EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release. |  Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watt (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release. |
 Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (center) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release. |  Vincent Cassel stars in David Cronenberg?s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release. |  Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg?s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release. |
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