Eastern Promises (2007)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

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 20 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

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:

Serendipity Point Films

Trivia:

The scene where Semyon demonstrates his musical skills to the little girls was not dubbed. Armin Mueller-Stahl does play the violin in real life, and was a noted concert violinist in his youth.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: While at the party, Nikolai has the young girl on his lap. They are drinking what appears to be a fifth of vodka. The girl seems to take a drink, but the vodka never reaches the neck of the bottle. She never makes a motion to swallow and immediately she kisses Nikolai. He motions for her to feed him some of the vodka. Again the vodka never reaches the neck of the bottle.

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

Viggo Mortensen Breaks New Ground

A terrific, tight, violent, homo erotic thriller with a soul and a heart and if that wasn't enough, Viggo Mortensen! He is an astonishing actor, he's always been. But now his Russian "I'm just a driver" goes further than most actors would have dared. He is magnetic. Cronenberg designs two lives again for him but this time the universe where he lives is made of monsters with an accent. The splendid Armin Mueller-Stahl's bonhomie doesn't fools us for a moment. "A diary?" That's enough for us to know and to fear. Vincent Cassel is also terrific and his down, tactile moments with Viggo Mortensen, have an erotic undercurrent that is impossible to ignore. Naomi Watts brings the heart to the proceedings without ever being sentimental. David Cronenberg, I feel, is entering a spectacular new face to his already remarkable career.