Review Eastern Promises
Title Eastern Promises
Director David Cronenbery
Screenplay: Steven Knight
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl
Rate: 4.5/5
Review by Nairel Vardamir
This is such a powerful movie. It overwhelmed me in a way I didn't anticipate it the first place. This is not usually my cup of tea, but I have to say, the MOVIE is seamless. There was no starts in this film, as everyone seems just being casted for the right roles. Considering the rate of the movie, it is a bit hard for me to watch, I think as most of the audiences will agree with me on this point. However, at the same time, covering all these violence at the front is this smart, elegant, upmarket Russian restaurant whose own seems like such a nice old Russian migrant. The mix message it sending here just keep being me back and forth between the dark unfamiliar world of Russian Mafia in the city of London, and the glamor or should I say more normal, non gangster side of the city. The whole atmosphere of the movie with all those raining and the right background music which I have to say I didn’t notice them until I was reply a few clips in my mind after watching it which I realize now have done a great job contributing to the whole mystery, cold, wet, yet colorful, lively of the world of a Russian Mafia.
Cast
I have to emit that one of the major reason for people like me to watch this R-rate movie is because of Viggo Mortensen, (as pretty much all my friends know I have a thing of this great actor since saw him from the LOTR). Yet, I as I say before, the performance of all the major roles in this film are excellent, considering Vincent Cassel who plays Kirill and Armin Mueller-Stahl who plays the cold heart Papa Semyon, and Viggo Mortensen who plays Nikolai, none of them are Russian, yet they all just so convincing, it is not just the accent, but rather how comfortable and confident they are when they speaking Russian, or English with strong Russian accent. The interaction between Vincent Cassel and Viggo is just excellent, I personally think the interaction between these two actors are just amazing, while Naomi is also good in the film, so how I feel it is worth more to look into the interaction between the three mafia rather than the love interest between Nikolai and Anna. Have to emit David Cronenber did a good job with casting.
Violence
Violence has become one of the most publishing factors for this movie in the first place, along side with the famous six minutes bathhouse fighting scene. I don;t like violent films, or should I be more specific, I don’t like movies that using violence as a sale for the film. However, as relentless as this movie, I have no objection what so even on the amount of graphic violence used in this movie. They just seem to fall into their place at the right plots.
As for the famous and most anticipating bathhouse fighting scene, all I have to say is I bow to you Viggo Mortensen, it is so provocative. I meant before I saw the movie, I might consider it to be provocative because it is a full nude scene. Nevertheless, while I was really watching that scene, you just complete, totally forgot that he is nude. All you can see is he is fighting for his life, and any minute, or even second can be a turning point for life or death. As much as it is painful to watching, it is also so realistic that you can feel the desperate,and the adrenalin is going up in those characters bodies.
Along side with the overwhelm of violence in this film, the story line is relatively much more simply, since so many times, people tend to forget you don’t need a complicate story line to make a good movie. Sometime, simplicity might just be the right dosage for a good movie plot.
Ending of the Film
As there has being quite a few different ideas of the ending, as for me the ending is just fine, or even more the ending is just better this way. As we don’t need to see all the bad people are get caught, while all the good people living happily ever after. In this form of the ending, it just reminds us once again, the world of Russian Mafia is real, and it is still there, one King goes down, another replaces his place, and for the rest of us life just goes on. Doesn’t matter which world you live in.
Watch or Not Watch
I strongly recommend people who have a much stronger heart should go and see it, however, if violence is not you cup of tea, you should see it too, just close your eyes while those scenes showing, because it is just so shame to miss out such a great movie because of the violence in it.