Exclaim Critics Pick - 2008! A baby and a diary left by a dead teenage prostitute spark the dark drama behind Eastern Promises. A crime-thriller about the Russian "mafiya in London, Eastern Promises is a moving drama about deceit, evil and family. Screenwriter Steven Wright and director David Cronenberg plunge innocent midwife Anna (Naomi Watts) into the world of mafiya head Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), his bumbling son, Kirill (Vincent Cassel), and loyal bodyguard, Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen). The conflict isnt so much good versus evil but feminine versus masculine, nurture versus murder. The performances are excellent all-around but Mortensen owns this movie. His Nikolai is compassionate, charming yet deadly.
(Alliance)Eastern Promises
David Cronenberg
BY Allan TongPublished Jan 29, 2008