Eastern Promises

Well, I didn't mean to imply it wasn't well done -- because it certainly was. But it received publicity for all the wrong reasons...

I totally see your point but there is always bad publicity for all things that are made for shock value.

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~In the event of a Zombie Uprising, remember to sever the head or destroy the brain!~

Never before (well, since Traffic) have I felt the feeling of wanting to get rid of my DVD that I blind bought. Not only is the film not really any good (aside from Naomi, whom is at no fault), it has some very sickening scenes. Viggo's performance, while pretty good, I would still have to say it's very overrated as well. Very disappointing.

4/10, and that is being fairly generous.

What didn't you like about it? I'd argue that it's among Cronenberg's finest work, personally. The film gets better everytime I see it. It's the most honest portrayal of London from a non Englishman I have ever seen, too.

^ I thought Viggo was the best part of that film by far, but I still perfered A History of Violence.

Viggo's great in both films, obviously. But Eastern Promises has so much more going for it than just Viggo Mortensen. It's a superbly crafted thriller that does avoid the cliches and conventions of the 'gangster' genre by not glamourising the lifestyle and violence these people lead. It's the anti Goodfellas, and it isn't a film for everyone.

I thought it was a little too sterotyped in the 'naive peasant' bits, and the Viggo 'oh yeah, I'm the hero' bits, eventhough I'm sure these were completely intentional from Cronenberg, for the ease of story if nothing else. Also Viggo was very underapprecaited for most of his career, he's already getting up there in years, or so it seems, therefore two thumbs up for Cronenberg.

Well Anna certainly wasn't naive, if that's who your referring to. She seemed was clued in straight away once she found the diary. She always had an understanding that Semyon was a messed up mafia geezer. It's just something that's never in your face. And that's another thing I like about this film. It's classy, doesn't want to hold your hand and baby sit you through it. It's a proper adult film.

Viggo's Nikolai isn't an obvious good guy, either. Even when you find out . It's a shame that there won't be a sequel anytime soon, as there is definitely more story there.

well not to be nitpicky, but I do believe that it went just a tad overboard on the violence, and for me it seemed in spots it was trying to be more violent than trying to tell a story. There's probably a reason I haven't seen much Cronenberg.

Viggo's performance was excellent. Not a typical Cronenberg film, for sure, realistic but lacking tempo. The fake Russian accents in American movies have long a go stopped bothering me.
I'm not a Cronenberg fan, but I did enjoy this movie as well as his History Of Violence, but then again, I am very partial to anything having to do with crime and violence.

as i was watching the movie i was blown away in this particular order: direction, acting, screenplay...very very enjoyable

Simply fantastic movie. Great screenplay, even better direction and marvelous Viggo Mortensen.

I like these realistic movies, when the line that separates the good guys from bad guys is not so clear.

Overall, a very good movie. At times I felt the story got a little muddled, but overall a solid film worth watching more than once. Viggo is great, Vincent is great and Naomi is too great. It would be nice to a sequel to this. Come on Cronenberg!

7.8 out of 10

W. Frey