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Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinead Cusack ... see more see more... , Donald Sumpter , Josef Altin , Mina E. Mina , Aleksandar Mikic , Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse , Lalita Ahmed , Buddy Uzzaman , Dana Smith Croll , Raza Jaffrey , Jerzy Skolimowski , Tatiana Maslany , Shannon-Fleur Roux , Lillibet Langley , Mia Soterious , Rad Kaim , Rhodri Miles , Tereza Srbova , Elisa Lasowski , Christina Catalina , Alice Henley , Faton Gerbeshi , David Papava , Tamer Hassan , Gergo Danka , Michael Sarne , Boris Isarov , Yuri Klimov , Andrzej Borkowski , Olegario Fedoro

Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Vincent Cassel star in this David Cronenberg's thriller concerning a London midwife who unwittingly stumbles into a clandestine Russian sex traff... read more read more...icking ring. An unidentified Russian teen has been rushed to a London hospital after going into labor. Though midwife Anna Khitrova (Watts) does manage to deliver a healthy baby girl, the newborn's mother dies tragically during delivery. But the deceased mother's secrets did not die with her, because she has left behind a diary. Determined to ensure the newborn is placed with her rightful family, Anna attempts to read the diary and discovers a business card for a local restaurant therein. Upon visiting the restaurant Anna is greeted by kindly owner Semyon (Mueller-Stahl), who generously offers to translate it for her. But Semyon is not what he appears to be, and before long Anna begins to fear that the child could be in great danger. Semyon admits to Anna that the diary contains information about his son Kirill (Cassell) that could land the volatile offspring in jail despite the fact that Kirill is at heart a good person. As the truth begins to unfold and Anna begins to believe that Kirill and his driver Nikolai (Mortensen) - an ambitious driver seeking to ascent the ranks of the notorious Russian mafia - mean the baby harm, an underworld storm begins to brew that could consume all involved. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

82% liked it

127,982 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

193 critics

R, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Release Date: September 21, 2007

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DVD Release Date: December 23, 2007

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Stats: 22,246 reviews

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Eastern Promises (2007) toronto international film festival 2007 EASTERN PROMISES One Sheet Naomi Watts in EASTERN PROMISES Viggo Mortensen in EASTERN PROMISES Eastern Promises Scene from EASTERN PROMISES Scene from EASTERN PROMISES Watts, Bello & Mortensen Scene from EASTERN PROMISES Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises Les Promesses de l'ombre (2007) Scene from EASTERN PROMISES Scene from EASTERN PROMISES Scene from EASTERN PROMISES Scene from EASTERN PROMISES Eastern Promises Armin Mueller-Stahl in Eastern Promises
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Flixster Reviews (22,246)

  • ironclad1609
    January 9, 2012
    ironclad1609
    Director David Cronenberg sticks to his phase of ultra-realistic, grim violence films with this story of a ruthless Russian mob family in London. Naomi Watts plays a woman who is unaware of the threats of Mafia families and tries to solve the case of a newborn child and its death... read more teenage mother. Viggo Mortensen once again shows his ultimate commitment to a role as the calm driver of the family, who may not be an entirely lost cause yet. The overall tone and atmosphere of the movie is very menacing, the violence comes sudden and realistically quick before all that's left is a corpse in the Thames, even though there is not much action. Still the mood and plot are enthralling and deliver quite a twist punch towards the end, even if the ultimate solution feels a tad too easy. Still, an interesting and sometimes exciting piece of work.
  • fb1664868775
    October 27, 2011
    fb1664868775
    An awesome follow up to A History Of Violence, the Viggo Mortensen/David Cronenberg collaboration seems to be working well.
  • fb619846742
    October 9, 2011
    fb619846742
    An interesting look at the mob and its underbelly, concerning a violent son (Vincent Cassell) of a restaraunt owner (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and his secrets threatening to become exposed by a midwife (Naomi Watts) who came across it after one of her patients died while giving birth.... read more This movie is full of darkness and despair, and its nihilistic state grows weary on one after awhile. However, the performances are all-around outstanding, notably Viggo Mortensen as Cassell's driver. Like some Cronenberg films, it does have a big twist at its conclusion, in this case it is handled reasonably well. However, the film fails to drop the crucial dramatic punch it so desperately needs at its conclusion with one of its characters, cutting it off a little bit prematurely, and the result is a mostly impressive, but still unfinished product.
  • fb100001048934982
    March 12, 2011
    fb100001048934982
    Damn, what a movie. Such great performances, except Watts actually made me cringe sometimes. Maybe I just don't like her. Viggo Mortensen and especially Cassell are stellar, Cronenberg gives great direction. This is Cronenberg's masterpiece, (so far).
  • axadntpron
    February 9, 2011
    axadntpron
    Cronenberg, Viggo. I don't really need to say anything else. You should have already watched this
  • danperry17
    November 5, 2010
    danperry17
    In one scene, where a naked Viggo Mortensen fights two Chechen gangsters, I could award the best actor Oscar. Some of the bravest male acting I've ever seen.

    As for the rest of the film, it's high drama, slow but not lull-you-off-to-sleep-slow, paced perfectly and featuring a... read more story that slowly builds, each little piece adding up to a stunning whole. Cronenberg has given us one hell of a story here, that plays into the noir and the gangster genres but still feels like an off-the-wall foreign film. A must-see as far as contemporary noir goes.
  • jarobb3
    August 23, 2010
    jarobb3
    I liked it well enough and thought Viggo did an awesome job playing his character. I did feel bored, though, through most of the movie, in between the short bursts of action and plot development. While the movie does a great job with character development, it lacked the constant ... read morebuild-up of suspense leading to the next outburst that some dark violent dramas do so well (i.e. Inglorious Bastards).

    Could be I'm just not in to mafia movies. Actually, that's probably exactly it.
  • harrycaul
    July 25, 2010
    harrycaul
    I've been reading my Flixster friends' reviews of this and I'm surprised at how many have given it a low rating. The gist of the criticism seems to be that Eastern Promises is a) not a 'proper' Cronenberg movie, and b) is somewhat formulaic/predictable. In answer to the fi... read morerst charge, I would say that no other director has explored a single theme (body horror) so thoroughly - producing a body of work of such consistent high quality - as David Cronenberg has over the past 40 years. If the guy wanted to make nothing but romantic comedies for the remainder of his career, I would be happy for him to do so - he's earned it. As for the predictability thing, it just isn't true. One of the most effective ways of concealing a plot twist is to dangle something fairly obvious in front of the audience so that it becomes the focus of our attention, allowing the director to outflank us while we're patting ourselves on the back. This is precisely what Cronenberg is doing with Eastern Promises, which actually contains a couple of splendid, expertly concealed surprises.
  • guaybanex
    July 22, 2010
    guaybanex
    Cronenberg builds on his late career reinvention (that he started with the surprising "A History of Violence".)

    Known as a master of venereal horror in his early days, Cronenberg now mixes his love for extremely graphic violence with mature and tense thrills in "Eastern Promi... read moreses" - a movie that doesn't live up to his initial promise, but still delivers enough to give it a strong recommend.

    Pairing up for a second consecutive time with the excellent Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises" is hard to watch at times but you won't be compelled to look away. It's not great (as the pacing is too slow at times and Watts' role is a throwaway), but worth a look.
  • romy861
    February 28, 2010
    romy861
    Very nicely filmed. Interesting, though got a bit confused at times with all the characters, and also not always the easiest to hear what they were saying. (Thank goodness for subtitles on the DVD!).

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Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
October 1, 2007
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

It's just too bad Eastern Promises, on the whole, promises more than it delivers. Full Review

Tom Long
September 21, 2007
Tom Long, Detroit News

...manages to blend the clashing of cultures, family resentment, ugly heritage and the unlikely promise of new life without going in circles. Full Review

Terry Lawson
September 21, 2007
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Eastern Promises is a straightforward, straight-up Russian gangster movie whose primary achievement is making the Russian gangster underworld feel exotic and menacing. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
September 21, 2007
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

...Eastern Promises is as honorable an entertainment as it is a humbling work of art. Full Review

Kerry Lengel
September 20, 2007
Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic

Suffice it to say it's a bit of primal brutality that lays bare the animal in each of us, fighting to survive. Full Review

Colin Covert
September 20, 2007
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

It's a mouthful of blood with a vodka chaser. Full Review

Bruce Newman
September 20, 2007
Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News

Eastern Promises is a subtle and precisely calibrated work of astonishing cumulative power. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
September 19, 2007
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

I cannot easily recommend these delights to everyone, but my high regard for Mr. Cronenberg's stylistic virtues remains largely undiminished. Full Review

Dana Stevens
September 15, 2007
Dana Stevens, Slate

Cronenberg has become such an assured director that it's a pleasure to sit back and hand yourself over to his sick and singular vision. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
September 15, 2007
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

[Viggo Mortensen] lends a moral complexity to Eastern Promises that makes it much more than just a very accomplished action thriller. Full Review

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    • Nikolai Luzhin: Sometimes, if things are closed, you just, open them up.
    • Nikolai Luzhin: I can't become king if someone else already sits on the throne.
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Eastern Promises Trivia

  • Canadian director David Cronenberg has taken a recent shine to Viggo Mortensen, casting him in the starring role of his past two movies ('A History of Violence' and 'Eastern Promises'). Who was the only actor to star for Cronenberg on more than one occasion prior to this?  Answer »
  • In the movie Eastern Promises, Viggo Mortensen is....  Answer »
  • During Eastern Promises Naomi Watts discovered she was pregnant with her son Alexander two weeks into shooting this movie. She initially tried to hide it, but costume designer Denise Cronenberg found out about it.   Answer »
  • In Eastern Promises, what parts of the body does Viggo eventually get his 'official' mob tattoos on?  Answer »
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