Viggo Mortensen (“Lord of the Rings” trilogy) stars in this melancholic, dramatic thriller about the Russian mafia in London that exceeds its genre because of the strong performance of its star. Mortensen is Nikolai, the purported chauffeur of a Russian family who also acts as both cleaner and enforcer as he subtly climbs the family hierarchy.
A complex character that is both quietly threatening and unworriedly removed from many of the dangerous situations around him, Nikolai also possesses a moral code that leads him to put his own life in jeopardy to protect an English woman and her family. This film is raw and unapologetically gratuitous, yet the story is so well polished that it draws you into the seedy underworld of London.
Anna (Naomi Watts, “King Kong”) is a midwife who works in a public hospital. She helps save the life of a newborn child after his young Russian mother stumbles into the emergency room, hemorrhaging badly. When the mother dies, Anna takes it upon herself to find the baby’s next of kin, which leads her to the mother’s diary about the Russian mafia and her dealings with it.
Anna naively seeks assistance of a Russian restaurateur, Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl, “Jakob the Liar”), who is intimately involved in the very mafia the teenager was seeking escape. Her accidental meeting with Nikolai, and his interest in her, may be the only thing that will keep her alive.
Mortensen completely immerses himself in his Russian character, speaking both Russian and accented English throughout the film. Director David Cronenburg and Mortensen have worked together before in another brilliantly fashioned film, “A History of Violence,” and Cronenburg draws wonderful performances out of him, truly showing the actor’s depth and abilities. The rest of the cast are above average, especially Nikolai’s silly, drunken friend, Kirill, though Anna’s overly curious nature may cause you some frustration.
Anna serves as the audience’s perspective into the tangled web of intrigue that is “Eastern Promises,” an unflinching mob movie at the top of its game.
Rated R for strong brutal and bloody violence, some graphic sexuality, language and nudity.
