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Eastern Promises

Eastern Promises (2007)

September. 14,2007
|
7.6
|
R
| Thriller Crime Mystery

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

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Reviews

Dotbankey
2007/09/14

A lot of fun.

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Salubfoto
2007/09/15

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

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Derrick Gibbons
2007/09/16

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

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Bob
2007/09/17

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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iamtheevil
2007/09/18

Alright, this is probably the first ever review I write. What's wrong with the writers of this movie? In what universe an unidentified woman dies in a modern hospital and the police doesn't get involved? Especially when her baby survives! They would surely demand any personal items, such as her purse and diary. And even if they didn't... What nurse/midwife would hold on to it instead of giving it to the police, and start instead playing detective? Going around poking at the russian mob nonetheless... And since we are talking about impossible, how unlikely is that the dying underage mother went into that pharmacy right when she was about to give birth and then lost consciouceness and never recovered, with never a chance to give her name or any information. This is beyond absurd. The rest of the movie is not horrible, I am half an hour in, but the plot hole is simply grinding my gears so much that I had to vent.

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cinemajesty
2007/09/19

Movie Review: "Eastern Promises" (2007)When a picture comes along in succession of already utmost hostililty-spreading "A History of Violence" (2005), director David Cronenberg reaches directorial peaks at age 63, when "Eastern Promises" builds every single scene particularly to unbearable suspense between characters, who have actually a life to lose, when Viggo Mortensen as Russian Mafia guard Nikolai hits high-marks over fellow acting members Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel and Armin Mueller-Stahl as completely inheriting portray as head of a Russian underworld dynasty as the character of Semyon, who seemingly shares moments of humanity in a no-mercy-world.Director David Cronenberg is able to finish a picture for the first time since the fulminate 1950s remake of "The Fly" (1986) starring Geena Davis & Jeff Goldblum in order to bring an original highly-observative script of capable screenwriter Steven Knight to the point of cinematic flourishment under mainly on-sound-stage complete-control-given visual beats with Viggo Mortensen fighting completely exposed through an ambush at a Turkish steam-sauna-scenario, which alone will stay in any spectators mind after a 95-Minutes-Editorial with no-dull-moments given, just thriller proportions throughout in favor for knock-out beats of a close-to-perfect thriller on human trade over abuse to murder emotional reach-outs.Copyright 2018 Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC

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Leofwine_draca
2007/09/20

Ever since the '70s, David Cronenberg has been an edgy, unconventional director whose unflinching forays into the worlds of horror, body deformity and sexuality have garnered him a loyal fan base and rave reviews. In recent years, he's moved away from more outlandish fare to focus on gritty, realistic thrillers. After the success of 2005's A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, he returns with this London-set thriller which explores the world of the Russian mafia, specifically through the tattoos worn by members which really do reveal their lifetime achievements.In essence this is Viggo Mortensen's film – after he did so well in HISTORY I didn't think he'd be able to top that performance, but he does and in spades. He makes his cold, calculating driver into a human being with hidden depths and it's one of those performances that you simply can't avert your eyes from. Cronenberg strives for a look at the 'truth' in this thriller; at first I thought it was going to be a revenge-style picture but in the end it's entirely unpredictable, with different strands for different lives mingling together.The subject matter is understandably dark, but to help us through there are some great performers here – Naomi Watts, so much better than in KING KONG, as the investigative midwife; Armin Mueller-Stahl as the grandiose mob boss, and finally Vincent Cassel as yet another creepy perverted type. Cronenberg moves away from the visceral even further, although the brief bursts of violence are here as disturbing as ever – there are slit throats to rival SWEENEY TODD and a naked bathhouse battle with plenty of eye-opening moments. EASTERN PROMISES is undeniably the director's most mature movie to date, and it's a brilliant one too.

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Mr-Fusion
2007/09/21

You can't mention "Eastern Promises" without also bringing up Viggo Mortensen, whom, in a movie full of great acting, leads the pack. That Russian accent couldn't have been easy to master, yet he wears it like a tailored suit. And he's so restrained composed in this role - you know he's a scary bastard, but he never raises his voice. And get a load of the mundane look on his face as he snips a corpse's fingers for disposal.Aside from the sporadic bouts of violence (particularly the brutal bathhouse fight scene), the movie is largely as quiet as its star. Especially for a seedy gangster movie. And despite the dark undercurrent flowing throughout, there's a sweetness at the movie's end that seems life-affirming in the face of all of this grisly death. Just as it is seemingly damning.I guess I didn't know what to expect with this, but it sucked me right in.7/10

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