A teenager who dies during childbirth leaves clues in her journal that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.A teenager who dies during childbirth leaves clues in her journal that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.A teenager who dies during childbirth leaves clues in her journal that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 28 wins & 74 nominations total
Aleksandar Mikic
- Soyka
- (as Aleksander Mikic)
Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse
- Tatiana
- (as Sarah Jeanne Labrosse)
Doña Croll
- Nurse
- (as Dona Croll)
Sinéad Cusack
- Helen
- (as Sinead Cusack)
Tatiana Maslany
- Tatiana
- (voice)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe tattoos around Nikolai's - Viggo Mortensen's character - ankles read "Where are you going?" and "What the fuck do you care?" in Russian. Mortensen thought that they were hilarious, that 'one foot doesn't respect the other.'
- GoofsAfter Nikolai was accepted by the mafia bosses, he gets his stars tattooed. When he is in the public bath, the tattoos seem to be completely healed. However, when they are entering the baths, a slight redness is perceivable around the stars. There was one day between these scenes. While the usual for a tattoo is to be brighter at first, it can be assumed that between the particular individual's skin, the lighting and the humidity of the baths, a normal tattoo could seem to be more healed than it actually is.
- Quotes
Anna: Why are you doing this, why are you helping us?
Nikolai Luzhin: I can't become king if someone else already sits on the throne.
- SoundtracksJust a Little
Written by Michelle Escottery, John Hammond-Hagan and George Hammond-Hagan
Performed by Liberty X
Courtesy of V2 Music Ltd.
Featured review
Ever since Cronenberg started making "straight" movies without (too many) splatter elements, something in his oeuvre had been lacking. "Spider" was beautifully photographed but a complete and utter bore. The much praised "A History Of Violence" had a great cast and a solid premise, but turned out to be just as boring and on top of that far-fetched and superficial. "Eastern Promises" finds Cronenberg finally coming to terms with his new "realistic" approach to movie making.
It's a little wonder that there haven't been too many serious movies about the Russian Mafia, yet, so having a movie that takes place in these circles is fascinating all by itself. Cronenberg sets the story up slowly, but nicely. He never falls into the trap of slowing things down too much as he did with his previous two movies. Cronenberg also avoids getting too close to the style of the genre's Big Kahuna, Martin Scorsese. This is a completely original effort, which sets it apart from 2007's snorefest "American Gangster", that didn't contribute anything new to the gangster genre at all.
The cast is, of course, very helpful. Viggo Mortensen and Vincent Cassell look threatening, cold-blooded and emotional all at the same time. You really forget the actors and start looking at them as the characters they embody. Armin Mueller-Stahl who plays the gangster boss wasn't quite as convincing. During the movie we hear all those cruel and crazy things he's done, but when we see him on screen we can't really imagine that he's capable of all that. The weakest link in the cast, however, is Naomi Watts, who plays the same way she always does and comes across as pretty one-dimensional. She has deservedly gotten a lot of praise for "Mullholland Dr." but failed to present a comparably great performance ever since. She's just good enough not to ruin the intensity of this movie.
"Eastern Promises" is aesthetic, explicit and thrilling. There are some scenes you won't forget for weeks to come (the sauna fight, the opening sequence). In short, what we have here is a modern classic. One of last year's finest and possibly the best movie David Cronenberg has made so far.
It's a little wonder that there haven't been too many serious movies about the Russian Mafia, yet, so having a movie that takes place in these circles is fascinating all by itself. Cronenberg sets the story up slowly, but nicely. He never falls into the trap of slowing things down too much as he did with his previous two movies. Cronenberg also avoids getting too close to the style of the genre's Big Kahuna, Martin Scorsese. This is a completely original effort, which sets it apart from 2007's snorefest "American Gangster", that didn't contribute anything new to the gangster genre at all.
The cast is, of course, very helpful. Viggo Mortensen and Vincent Cassell look threatening, cold-blooded and emotional all at the same time. You really forget the actors and start looking at them as the characters they embody. Armin Mueller-Stahl who plays the gangster boss wasn't quite as convincing. During the movie we hear all those cruel and crazy things he's done, but when we see him on screen we can't really imagine that he's capable of all that. The weakest link in the cast, however, is Naomi Watts, who plays the same way she always does and comes across as pretty one-dimensional. She has deservedly gotten a lot of praise for "Mullholland Dr." but failed to present a comparably great performance ever since. She's just good enough not to ruin the intensity of this movie.
"Eastern Promises" is aesthetic, explicit and thrilling. There are some scenes you won't forget for weeks to come (the sauna fight, the opening sequence). In short, what we have here is a modern classic. One of last year's finest and possibly the best movie David Cronenberg has made so far.
- Superunknovvn
- Jan 1, 2008
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Promesas peligrosas
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $17,266,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $547,092
- Sep 16, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $56,107,312
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content