Eastern Promises

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Hermione S Apr 16, 2019 A good change of pace from the normal struggles of the Italian mafia to the violence and family issues of the Russian mafia. My mom recommended this so I gave it a chance not knowing what to expect; I ended up being pleasantly surprised. The characters are really good with cool stories and problems that definitely pushed the intensity of the film. The story was too good, that is, I actually got a little lost in it, needing my mom to explain some parts to me. Sadly, a good story usually has its dull moments, and this does have it. But the dull stuff was still interesting, I never got uninterested in it. There were only one or two action scenes in it and one of them was an awesome knife fight where the main character fights off hitman naked in a sauna. That was really good and cool. This is definitely a must watch for those into crime thrillers but those who are opposed to some butt-clenching violence might step away. See more

Finn W Mar 14, 2019 How could a movie with such a premise be so boring?

Mar 10, 2019 Excellent movie. I love the two main characters. Naomi Watts was awesome.

Rey M Feb 21, 2019 An Unfaithful And Broken Asset. Eastern Promises Cronenberg has a smart stable method to work his way up on the ladder. His simplicity, and even cliches, has a panache that any filmmaker would die to have for. His lucid flow on storytelling is why it all looks so simple and easy. He doesn't rely much upon antics, but when there are their to work upon, he makes sure he builds them up sincerely and weaves them out sharply on the screen. Take the holy ceremonial or mythological ritual sequence that these gangs go through before claiming their titles or roles in their community. That entire sequence where Mortensen surrenders himself to their religion or the game that they believe in and feed themselves in, says a lot about the integrity of these characters. These tiny characteristics of the characters is why we care, this attractive nature of theirs makes us root for them from the start. There isn't much action in the film, but only once does Mortensen throws a punch, and that entire sequence is not only well choreographed and shot but also brilliantly performed. Nikolai; the protagonist, played powerfully by Viggo Mortensen is not your average Godfather-like mafia member, he wants to prove himself and he does. Naomi Watts cloaking as Anna, the sort-of voice of the reason of the film has unfortunately very less to invest. In fact, Vincent Cassel as a spoiled brat has much more threat to convey with his uncertainty. Stephen Knight, the writer, is not overprotective or melodramatic about his content, he gives up easily but wisely, he makes sure that there is another surprising layer attached to it, to ground the emotions and justify these killings. Eastern Promises has a promising premise, scoffing off the usual crime drama rigmarole, David Cronenberg focuses on the heart of these characters. See more

George L Jan 20, 2019 This was recommended by friends and is usually not my kind of movie. The story was not all that original but the great acting and the directing made it worth watching. A very decent drama-thriller if that's your thing. See more

George M Jan 13, 2019 It's been a while since I've seen a good crime film, and this is one I would definitely recommend.

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Eastern Promises

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