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 could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.

Plot Keywords:

Russian | Diary | Baby | Midwife | Hospital

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 24 wins & 35 nominations

Cast

Josef Altin	...	Ekrem
Mina E. Mina	...	Azim
Aleksander Mikic	...	Soyka
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 | Urdu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Broadway Market, Hackney, London, England, UK

Company:

Focus Features

Trivia:

The full name of Viggo Mortensen's character is Nikolai Luzhin. This is a reference to Vladimir Nabokov's novel "The Luzhin Defense".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the public baths scene, when Nikolaï (Viggo Mortensen) walks toward the camera with Azim, you can clearly see on Viggo's left shoulder the Elvish tattoo he got while in New Zealand for the Lord of the Rings shooting (the tattoo is "nine" in elvish Tengwar writing).

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:

Moonlit Night

works so well on many levels...

It is not often that audiences today are treated to a film that has as many things going for it as Eastern Promises does. Whether it's because of interference from studios determined to make their products as marketable as possible, filmmakers who favor style over substance, or just a plain old shortage of originality, nowadays it is a treat when a film fan can leave the theater and feel affected by the artistry that he/she has just experienced.

On the surface, Eastern Promises is a straightforward crime story about people who don't appear to be terribly complex. But somehow, the combination of the narrative, the mood, and the humanness of the characters create an alchemy that transcends this film from something that could have been common into something quite unique and memorable. Noirish settings, dedicated medical professionals, and mobsters and their loyal henchmen are all commonplace enough in movies as to risk being clichés. Yet everything in this film about a London midwife who stumbles into contact with the Russian mob as she seeks clues to the identity of a teen who died in childbirth mesh together wonderfully and fully engage the viewer.

While it all starts with the script, credit must be given to the director, David Cronenberg for bringing it to life, and for the cast, who created living, breathing characters who the viewer cares about- whether they are likable or not, good or evil, or not quite so easy to read. They seem real.

At the core of the film is "Nikolai," the loyal chauffeur to the kingpin's volatile son. "Nikolai" is both enigmatic and mesmerizing. We know he is a man with a past and with secrets, but we really don't know what his goals and motives are. We don't know who he is, yet somehow, just as the half-Russian midwife, "Anna", we are drawn to him and trust that there is goodness in him, even as were are not quite sure we should. It is a skillful, yet understated performance that quietly blows you away.

Although Eastern Promises has some of the director's signature moments of eye-popping violence, they do not dominate this film and it is the quiet moments- where the characters are silently contemplating aspects of their own existence that give the film its power. We can see the introspection and pain on their faces, but the script leaves so much unsaid, and so much about the two main characters (played by Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts) we come to care about so much remain a beautiful, haunting mystery.