Eastern Promises

When watching Eastern Promises, many film fans probably thought, "Thank God that Cronenberg has gained some common sense in his old age and started making understandable genre films accessible to a wider audience." I prefer the old "perverse" Cronenberg, who experimented and came up with original stories beyond the mainstream of cinema. Eastern Promises is not bad at all, although the script is definitely not original and an experienced viewer can guess where the story is heading after a while. For example, the scriptwriter lacked the courage to cross the genre taboo of the death of a child character. What makes this thriller stand out and surpass average productions is the excellent cast and great performances, far from typical B-movies. The atmosphere of the foreign Russian mafia with its secret rituals, tattoos, and "mythology" is naturally attractive. Overall impression: 75%. The depiction of several overly naturalistic shots, such as the stabbing of a human eye in a fight or the mutilation of a corpse, disturbed me, but many fans will probably appreciate it. :-) (26/09/2008)

A slow and ethereal film without any unexpected twists, lightning-fast executions, or a pile of violence, but it still carries the typical signature of the renowned director. The depiction of the cold atmosphere of the Russian mafia is incredible, as well as the accent of Vincent Cassel and Viggo Mortensen, whose training must have been unbelievable. You can literally feel the typical scent of borscht oozing from the screen. There’s surprisingly little violence and blood, but there is one wild scene, a thrilling fight in the sauna, which has no equivalent in modern Hollywood. Intensely paced, narratively clear, and capturing the Eastern atmosphere in a modern metropolis, this captivating non-mainstream mainstream film needs to be seen in the evening with not a single light in the room. (18/07/2008)

With a bit of exaggeration, Naomi Watts's character seems to have fallen out of a naive Danielle Steele novel, creating a perfect contrast with the hard male world of the criminal underworld that has a somewhat uncompromising touch (detailed throat slashing, a knife stabbing an eyeball). It's in fact this contrast that is the greatest strength of the story, which is not very revelatory, but it must be said that Cronenberg's understated direction is very pleasant and effective, because despite the trivial plot, his film manages to draw you into the action so that the 100 minutes go by so quickly. Compared to the previous and weak A History of Violence, it is really very engaging with some truly unforgettable scenes (the opening fight in the sauna with Mortensen in a birthday suit). I could watch the phenomenal trio of Mueller-Stahl, Cassel, Mortensen for days. (08/01/2008)

Pretty restrained for Cronenberg, but you can still see his style. Like most films of his I’ve watched, this one felt very cold, but it still managed to capture my attention thanks to the intense rawness. Cronenberg is not for everyone, but I like playing his emotionally detached games sometimes. 80% (18/08/2008)

Cronenberg shines again! The guy's a genius. It's a gritty tale of crime and redemption with an unusual (hidden) tenderness. Cronenberg uses every possible allusion to develop the story. He draws us into the story, immerses us emotionally to the characters, who are not portrayed as either bad or good. And this is Cronenberg's masterful talent, to show us each character as he wishes, without any preconceived notion, and absentmindedly bringing the audience to play emotionally with them. The sauna scene is clearly the film's highlight. 75%. (05/01/2014)