Eastern Promises (2007)

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

Steven Knight (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 September 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Every sin leaves a mark.

Plot:

A Russian teenager living in London who dies during childbirth leaves clues to a midwife in her journal that that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Death In Childbirth | Brothel | Murder | Organized Crime

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 19 wins & 34 nominations

Cast

Josef Altin	...	Ekrem
Mina E. Mina	...	Azim
Aleksandar Mikic	...	Soyka (as Aleksander Mikic)
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse	...	Tatiana (as Sarah Jeanne Labrosse)
Lalita Ahmed	...	Customer
Badi Uzzaman	...	Chemist
Naomi Watts	...	Anna
Doña Croll	...	Nurse (as Dona Croll)
Raza Jaffrey	...	Doctor Aziz
Sinéad Cusack	...	Helen (as Sinead Cusack)
Jerzy Skolimowski	...	Stepan
Tatiana Maslany	...	Tatiana (voice)
Viggo Mortensen	...	Nikolai
Vincent Cassel	...	Kirill
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Semyon

Also Known As:

Promesses de l'ombre (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal and bloody violence, some graphic sexuality, language and nudity.

Runtime:

100 min | Canada:96 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

UK | Canada | USA

Language:

English | Russian | Turkish | Ukrainian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Hong Kong:III | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Japan:R-18 | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | Italy:VM14 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/16 | New Zealand:R18 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | UK:18 | Israel:18 | Singapore:M18 | Norway:18 | Ireland:18 | Argentina:16 | Thailand:PD-14 | Canada:XXX (Nova Scotia) | Germany:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15 | Australia:R | USA:R | France:-12

Filming Locations:

Broadway Market, Hackney, London, England, UK

Company:

Serendipity Point Films

Trivia:

One day after shooting, Viggo Mortensen went to a pub without washing off his tattoos or even changing out of his costume. He claims that some of the patrons became very frightened of him, assuming he was a real member of Vory v Zakone.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Nikolai is in the hospital, the green number (blood pressure or pulse rate?) on the screen next to his pulse reading increases dramatically (~20) between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Azim: He says "Christmas." So I say to him,
[in Turkish]
Azim: "Should we go shopping?"
[English]
Azim: The kid's 16. He says, "But uncle, it's Christmas."

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Go' aften Danmark: (2007-09-23)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Slavery and Suffering

Amazing

First of all it is amazing the amount of research that went into this movie. When Mortissen's characters says that his father worked for the government, in Russian he actually says: "Hunched his back for the uncle"! Even the poster with little and index finger straighter then the rest, it all breathers authenticity.

I didn't go in expecting non-Russian actors to suddenly have no accent, but I did have hesitations about the pronunciation, that usually tends to be horrible. Not so here, despite the accent (that was slight), the intonation, the way the characters cary themselves especially Mortinssen's are very Russian. (Even his less then perfect English sounds Russia when he misses articles: "Not good place for girl to grow up.") Overall the director shows a bit of what a real SinCity looks like. Violence is like a snap of a whip, sudden and loud. The movie is very stylish, but without trying to be so. It's just how these people like to live their lifes. A lot has been said about acting and it is true Mortinssen really delivers. All the auther actors are great too though, there is no weak link in this movie.

Anyway the bottom line: The most authentic movie about Russian mobsters that the west has produced so far. Furthermore I find the only aspect in which it looses to the Godfather is scope. Although the movie is complete I can not help, but to want for more. The best film I've seen this year.