"Eastern promises" is the first film for David Cronenberg that was shot entirely outside his native Canada and it is the second film of Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen - after "The History of Violence" (2005). It should be mentioned that Viggo Mortensen had done a very impressive research for his Oscar-nominated role of Nikolai Luzhin, a modest driver and also an "undertaker" and a hit-man for the Russian mafia boss in London. Mortensen alone, without a translator, had traveled across Russia, visiting the Urals Mountains where his character came from, and also stopped in Moscow and St.-Petersburg. Mortensen diligently learned Russian to make the Russian phrases of Siberian Nikolai sound more naturally. He also studied the literature on Russian prisons and their unofficial kings, "vory v zakone" or thieves in the law, the most respected and feared criminals. The script was written by Stephen Knight whose previous film on the subject of the emigrants in modern London, "Dirty Pretty Things" (2002), proves that he is a talented writer. Sadly, the script is the weakest part of "Eastern Promises" and while watching the movie I thought that it had deserved the better writing. The story is predictable from the very beginning and it lacks subtlety. All twists and turns are clearly seen a mile away. Even with the obvious problems in the script, "Eastern promises" is an interesting film - intense, gloomy, dark, and violent. David Cronenberg's directing is laconic, non sentimental, almost clinical and always virtuoso. The gruesome fight scene in the Turkish Baths is a masterpiece, the way it was choreographed and shot. Cronenberg must have used the knowledgeable Russian consultants on the set and I was pleasantly surprised that the Russian phrases sound naturally, and pronunciation and intonations of the non-Russian actors were believable. Besides Mortinsen, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Vincent Casselas as Nikolai's horrifying boss and his creepy son, are especially memorable. Surprisingly, Naomi Watts whom I adore in every movie I've seen her, plays the least interesting character and I attribute it to the weaknesses of the script.
