5 Question Movie Review: Eastern Promises

Q: Hey, great, a sequel to A History of Violence! Is this as good as the first one?
A: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Yes, this movie reunites director David Cronenberg with star Viggo Mortensen, and, yes, it explores the nature, causes, and effects of violence. But it's a completely different movie, with different characters in a new setting. Incidentally, it's not quite as good. but if you don't try to saddle this one with the comparison, it's a fine film.

Q: Got to ask about that bathhouse brawl scene that got all the pub, the one in which supposedly you see all of Viggo in action. is that as disturbing as it sounds?
A: Well, many might not find the idea of Naked Viggo disturbing, but there is nothing erotic about that brutal showstopper of a fight scene. It is extremely rough in a "realistic" sort of way. It's desperate, frantic combat without hyperstylized editing or a loud video game soundtrack to prod you into an adrenaline rush. And Mortensen is indeed naked the whole time and quite vulnerable, and all guys in the audience will cringe each time the blade involved is flashed.

That said, as a hetero male, as tough as this was to watch, as devastatingly vicious as it became, it STILL was much, much easier to take than the nude wrestling in "Borat."

Q: Is this movie as grim and unrelenting as all that? History of Violence was pretty intense once it got going.
A: Actually, despite several excessively violent scenes and a general sense of evil--Cronenberg even ups the stakes by resorting to putting a baby in jeopardy--there are signs of hope here, many coming from Naomi Watts. Watts is excellent as a nurse who becomes involved in the dark underworld of the Russian Mafia in London but never loses sight of her principles and her sense of right and wrong. It's an admirable performance--both strong and tender, with Watts going a relatively less glamorous route--in a movie landscape that is often lacking in good female roles.

Q: Aha! So there are people involved in this besides Viggo and Cronenberg?
A: Yes, there are, with vivid support from cast members like Armin-Mueller Stahl and Vincent Cassell. But while he wasn't the only actor in the film, Viggo Mortensen clearly owns it, delivering a mesmerizing performance that is arguably even more impressive and memorable than his work in History of Violence. I find that Eastern Promises lacks some of the depth and thought-provoking quality of that one. This is not due to any lack of trying by Viggo, though, as he brings subtlety and some ambiguity to his role.

Q: Does this movie really take us inside the world of the Russian Mafia?
A: It's not like Scorcese, but Cronenberg depicts that environment quite vividly in some ways--the tattoos, the food, the language. In other ways, he emphasizes how separate it is from what we think of London culture. The placement of the gangsters' realm in, say, an unassuming (from the outside) family-owned restaurant on a low-key downtown street creates that sense of a unique world that is apparently detached from the larger reality yet also lurking right within its heart. Inside these urban areas, these men dominate, but in outdoor scenes, they stick out, not just as "foreigners," but as criminals. It's a fascinating dichotomy that gives "Eastern Promises" a fresh slant on the familiar concept of organized crime.