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Under the top layer of civility, white tablecloths and rose petals on cakes lies a cross-current of violence, revenge and hatred. David Cronenberg and Steve Knight have gotten it right. You never know what is going on behind the kitchen door in Eastern Promises.

Or, when some actors are said to give their all for a movie role, it really happens. Look at the weight loss for Christian Bale in The Machinist or with Steve Zahn in Rescue Dawn, and that’s not counting Robert De Niro’s weight gain for Raging Bull. Now it is Viggio Mortensen’s turn, so not only does he  sculpt his body with muscles, but does a nude fight scene in a bath house. Oh, Eastern Promises has more going for it than the fight scene, but this is probably what people will remember.

Eastern Promises is set in London. Assorted Russian factions have “families” with “soldiers” and get money through illegal imports or prostitution. The families have legal business fronts, though, and does the "legal business" part sound familiar? This Russian group is called Vory V Zakone. What a way to embrace capitalism. The story by Steve Knight centers on a young pregnant girl, an illegitimate baby, a restaurant, a motorcycle, a hospital, brothel and wine cellar. That just about takes care of it.

Eastern Promises opens with a bloody teenage girl staggering into a London pharmacy. She faints, is taken to the hospital, gives birth to a daughter and dies. Midwife Anna (of some Russian heritage and played by Naomi Watts) starts to care for the baby and tries to get the mother’s diary translated. Inside the diary is a card from a local restaurant. Riding her motorcycle there, she meets the proprietor, Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stall at his menacing best) and thinks the girl may have worked at the restaurant. Semyon's smile turns to ice when he hears about the diary and from then on, it is a cat-and-mouse game to get a copy of the diary and have it translated. Narration gives the audience snippets of information from the diary and we see that the girl was an unwilling, underage prostitute. 

In the meantime, along another story line, Nikolai (Viggio Mortensen) is Semyon’s chauffeur and “cleaner-upper” of gruesome details. Nikolai has seen Anna at the restaurant and taken a liking to her. However, he also has to deal with the brutal Kirill (Vincent Cassel), who is Semyon’s son. In order to rise in this family’s organization, Nikolai has to take orders from Kirill. The phrase “spoiled son” comes to mind. Eventually, the two stories collide with disastrous results.

Viggio Mortensen plays a surprising character here. Using a European hair style, immaculate dress and a cautious way of walking, Mortensen gives an intense performance and his Russian is pretty good. You wonder why he has such patience with Kirill and obeys his commands, but then all is not what it seems. I could see Viggo Mortensen possibly getting an Oscar nomination for this role. Armin Mueller-Stahl (already an Oscar winner) plays a grandfather and restaurant owner, yet quietly gives orders to violently protect his organization. This is “The Sopranos” from another continent. Vincent Cassel as cruel Kirill, an only son, is definitely Daddy’s boy, and the actor lets expressions flash across his conflicted face like a neon sign. There isn’t much dialogue in _Eastern Promises_ and this works advantageously. You can concentrate on body language, facial expression and the setting without being unduly distracted. Director David Cronenberg does have a bloody movie here and the method of disposal is usually a carpet knife. It fits in with the revenge theme of the story.

As for the women in this film, Naomi Watts gives a sparse performance that is void of histrionics. This works well for her and she blends in with the men. Sinead Cusack is not utilized well and her comments are reduced to phrases like “Don’t do that,” or “Listen to me!” Teenage girls in prostitution are unwilling participants in this family drama. Going to a new country can be a pleasant or unpleasant experience, it depends on who your family is.

Copyright 2007 Marie Asner

Marie Asner is celebrating 25 years as a professional film critic. Marie is a member, and past president of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, the second oldest (37 years) Film Critics Circle in the U.S. Currently, Marie Asner reviews for www.PhantomTollbooth.org, WQFL-FM "Marlar in the Morning" (Rockford, Ill.), Metro Voice News (Kansas City) and KCUR-FM (NPR-Kansas City) "The Walt Bodine Show."
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