Eastern Promises, the first film of three that I have viewed by director David Cronenberg, was an interesting take on the ins and outs of the Russian Mafia; vory v zakone as they say in their native tongue. The movie, starring Viggo Mortensen in a much different role than his most famous performance thus far in Lord Of The Rings, tells a story of lies and betrayal centered around the mysterious death of a pregnant girl. Anna (Naomi Watts), the midwife who delivers the girls baby, wants to know under what circumstances would make some one apparently murder a pregnant teenager. After finding a card for a Transsiberian restaurant on the body of the now deceased mother, Anna decides to investigate. Meeting Russian born Nikolai (Mortensen), a driver and "cleaner" for the mafia, shes convinces him to help her dispose of a mob bosses son who, through a diary, shes believes has raped and murdered the girl for fear of losing face. With Nikolai's motives still remaining a mystery until the end of the film, the movie picks up into a serious of violent twists, including one of the better fight scenes in recent memory, to an ending that almost rivals that of Fight Club (Fincher 1999) and The Usual Suspects (Singer 1995) in terms of mind bending plot twists.
Cronenberg's typical directing style is seen in great detail throughout this film, though toning it down a bit to make it a bit more easily accesible to the mainstream. Although the only movie I have seen from his other works is A History Of Violence (2005), From the research I have done about him it fits this model completely. His enjoyment of filming movies with elements of "Body Horror", or the fear of bodily transformation of infection, is clearly seen in multiple parts in this movie. Close-up shots of fingers being removed from a corpse with disturbingly realistic detail, along with a very grotesque fight scene in a shower room exemplify this distinct styling of his. The style with which he turns this into a suspensful thriller is also important to note, because without his distinct use of music and various dark overtones, this could have easily turned into a Brian De Palma style mobster thriller. Cronenberg injects into it a mix of extreme sex and violence that is not often seen in mainstream cinema that really sets his movies apart from the rest of the crowd.
Eastern Promises is one of the most compelling films I have seen so far this year. No, it doesn't have unique cinematography, and the dialogue can be hard to interpret which can be brutal with a movie with such a fast paced story, but it does something that can be rare with movies nowadays; every scene is compelling and important. From the Opening scenes with the girl in the pharmacy, to the closing credits, there is never a moment that feels like filler to make the movie longer and attempt to feed the viewer more back story. The viewer takes the movie as it is, which gives it a very raw feeling unlike others in recent memory. The viewers are also left to decide for themselves what happens in the end, but it is done in a way that is neither upsetting or confusing as other movies that have tried a similar approach seem to be. Overall, Eastern Promises was a rewarding and enjoyable movie that has made me ripe with anticipation to watch Cronenberg's other works.
