“A History of Violence” star Viggo
Mortensen and director David Cronenberg
team up again – this time for a dark, disturbing
look at the social underbelly of Russian
mob life in “Eastern Promises.”
The movie opens
along a dank, dreary
street in North London
with a seemingly innocent
barbershop visit
suddenly erupting into
a brutal, succinct throat
slitting.
In the same part of
town, a 14-year-old
Russian street urchin
wanders into a pharmacy
hemorrhaging
and pleading for help.
The end of her life
is followed by the
start of another; her
daughter’s.
Both deaths are tied
to the Vory V. Zarkone
Russian crime family, a
fact that is uncovered
by the newborn’s hapless
midwife, Anna (Naomi Watts), a nurse
working in the maternity ward of a nearby
hospital.
Because of a recent miscarriage, Anna
quickly bonds with the newborn orphan,
hoping to notify her family in Russia
before the British government steps in and
marginalizes the baby to a life of inadequate
social services.
In an attempt to help the baby, Anna
recovers a diary belonging to the late mother
and goes home to have her Russian uncle,
Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski), translate.
Although reluctant because of the diary’s
content, Stepan eventually relents and begins
to uncover the life of an enslaved prostitute
and her rape and abuse at the hands of the
Zarkones.
Thanks to one entry in the diary, Anna is
led to an upscale Russian restaurant where
she meets Zarkone family patriarch, Semyon
Zarkone (Armin Mueller-Stahl), his son,
the reckless and controlling Kirill (Vincent
Cassel) and the cruel, cool and collected
family chauffeur and assasin, Nikolai Luzhin
(Mortensen).
Alarmed at what she possesses, the mob
closes in around her and her family, while
Anna’s naivety and maternal instincts get
the best of her. Immediately, the audience
is given an inkling, however absurd, that
the assassin might have a soft spot for the
young nurse.
Still, Nikolai’s sense of professionalism
does not stop him from losing sight of
his goals. Between being chauffeur and
preventing the drunken Kirill’s insecurities
from getting the best of him, Nikolai is also
responsible for tying loose ends and making
people disappear.
Intent on earning respect in the form of
the eight-pointed star tattoos stamped on
all worthy family members, Nikolai stops at
nearly nothing to prevent the volatile diary
from ruining his career.
The movie works its magic in the subtleties
of the characters’ underlying personas.
Anna’s unrefined but intrinsic motherly
nature compromises her family’s safety,
while Kirill’s embodiment of the typical
heir of patriarchal society eventually gives
way, shaming his family and culture in
unforeseen ways.
When Watts shares scenes with the actors
playing Anna’s uncle (Skolimowski) and
mother (Sinead Cusack), some of her best
acting in the film is present.
The always-captivating Mortensen provides
the most entertainment through dark
and reserved acting, inescapable charm and
one of the bloodiest, crudest knife fights I’ve
ever witnessed in a thriller. You get to see
his assets too.
Cinematographer and frequent Cronenberg
collaborator Peter Suschitzky deserves
proper respect for a job well-done.
Cronenberg and writer Steve Knight do a
stellar job of sending the audience the right
clich