Spring Break
Russians deliver the goods
Cronenberg's latest, Eastern Promises, delivers strong performances and chilling scenes.
by Jordan Holtzman-Conston
Arts | 10/9/07
Posted online at 9:34 PM EST on 10/8/07
A crime thriller without a gun in sight, Eastern Promises delivers much more than a typical Italian mob movie. A great script, brilliant directing and exceptional acting create both a captivating story and real, empathetic characters. Director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence) spins the tale of a Russian crime family working for the Vory Zakone sex trafficking syndicate in London. Viggo Mortensen takes the lead as the mysterious Nikolai Luzhov, the family's chauffer, and, when the occasion calls for it, butcher. Opposite Mortensen, Naomi Watts plays Anna, a half-Russian midwife who becomes involved with the family after delivering the baby of one of the family's sex slaves, a young girl named Tatiana. When Tatiana dies in childbirth, Anna is left with the task of finding a home for the baby and avenging the mother. When the Vory Zakone get wind of the situation, Anna is suddenly pulled into the dark world of the Russian mob.
Anna is introduced to a host of seedy characters, including Kirill (Vincent Cassel of Ocean's 12), son of the big boss, Semyon. Kirill outranks Nikolai, but the often drunk, sexually ambiguous and always insecure Kirill defers to him throughout the film. Nikolai Luzhov never blinks an eye or loses his intensely confident demeanor, whether chopping off a dead man's fingers, defending Kirill to his father Semyon or casually flirting with Anna, all while insisting he is no more than a driver.
Armin Mueller-Stahl plays the grandfatherly Semyon, who owns and operates a chic Siberian restaurant to front his sex slave trafficking operations. Mueller-Stahl is perfect as a sweet elderly Russian man who loves nothing more than to drink vodka and cook borscht. But on the inside, he is a rapist and murderer; a criminal so ruthless that his own son fears for his life around him. Seemingly above the law, or any other syndicates, Semyon's career is threatened by only one thing: his questionable connection to the baby.
The film's greatest strength lies in its four lead actors, each subtly, yet vibrantly developing their characters into real human beings. Mortensen's intensity, Watts' depressed undertones and Cassel's self-loathing never play too strongly, but are constantly noticeable enough to make the characters believable. Sexual tension between Mortensen and Watts resonated throughout the film but is never fully resolved, leaving only tantalizing thoughts of what could have been.
Anna is introduced to a host of seedy characters, including Kirill (Vincent Cassel of Ocean's 12), son of the big boss, Semyon. Kirill outranks Nikolai, but the often drunk, sexually ambiguous and always insecure Kirill defers to him throughout the film. Nikolai Luzhov never blinks an eye or loses his intensely confident demeanor, whether chopping off a dead man's fingers, defending Kirill to his father Semyon or casually flirting with Anna, all while insisting he is no more than a driver.
Armin Mueller-Stahl plays the grandfatherly Semyon, who owns and operates a chic Siberian restaurant to front his sex slave trafficking operations. Mueller-Stahl is perfect as a sweet elderly Russian man who loves nothing more than to drink vodka and cook borscht. But on the inside, he is a rapist and murderer; a criminal so ruthless that his own son fears for his life around him. Seemingly above the law, or any other syndicates, Semyon's career is threatened by only one thing: his questionable connection to the baby.
The film's greatest strength lies in its four lead actors, each subtly, yet vibrantly developing their characters into real human beings. Mortensen's intensity, Watts' depressed undertones and Cassel's self-loathing never play too strongly, but are constantly noticeable enough to make the characters believable. Sexual tension between Mortensen and Watts resonated throughout the film but is never fully resolved, leaving only tantalizing thoughts of what could have been.
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