“Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)
Good Movie/Stupid Title
What the heck does the title “Eastern Promises” have to do with this movie about the Russian mob in London And why does a film intended for an English speaking audience have so much Russian in the dialogue which then requires the audience to read subtitles If I was going to see a foreign film I would expect subtitles but in this movie – no. So with those two strikes against it, let me quickly add the film is basically good entertainment – not great, but good.
Naomi Watts plays Anna, a midwife at a hospital in London. She is on duty when a pregnant fourteen-year-old girl is brought to the emergency room of the hospital. The girl dies but her baby is delivered and survives. In the deceased girl’s pocketbook Anna finds a diary written in Russian, as well as a card for an exclusive restaurant.
Anna goes to the restaurant and asks about the girl. The restaurant owner, Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), denies any knowledge. Anna then mentions the diary and Semyon volunteers to translate it for her.
Anna also meets Semyon’s son Kirill (Seymour Cassell) and the restaurant’s chauffeur Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen). Nikolai is attracted to Anna but doesn’t pursue her. He is busy learning all he can about how to climb the ranks of the shady organization headed up by Semyon.
The movie has a lot of twists and turns and people are not always who or want they appear to be. Some of these are logical and some are not. The logic problems are caused by the script and not the actors. Overall the acting is excellent with Mortensen and Mueller-Stahl being the best of the group.
The movie is a contradiction of sorts. It is filled with graphic violent acts interspersed with slow moving periods of plot. And when David Cronenberg, the director, is moving the plot along it usually involves some conversations in Russian. And that means subtitles.
“Eastern Promises” is the type of movie that involves the audience but never totally satisfies them. You keep thinking the movie could have been great, rather than just good, with a little bit more of an effort.
The film is rated R for violence, profanity and nudity.
“Eastern Promises” is not for those who dislike violence. In today’s movies when they say the violence is graphic that means it is not for the squeamish. This one has graphic violence. Still the movie has Viggo Mortensen giving one of his best performances and that alone is worth the price of admission. It would have been nice if Watts had been on an equal level with him with her performance. She is adequate but not outstanding.
I scored “Eastern Promises” an avowed 6 out of 10.
