The Light at the End of the Tunnel

In the new David Cronenberg thriller Eastern Promises, a moody rattler that is so shockingly violent at times you should approach it carefully, a London midwife innocently looking into the death of a young woman finds herself in the dangerous sights of a Russian mobster associated with the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood.

This is not the kind of film to which you go on a date, but this is a film that you must watch if you are willing to appreciate it for its tone, if you like film.

At its strong center lies the mysterious and charismatic Russian-born Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), the driver for one of the English capital’s most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin.

Headed by the deceptively warm Semyon (Academy Award nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl), the family's fortunes are tested by Semyon's volatile son, Kirill (Derailed’s Vincent Cassel), a clumsily ambitious sheep who relies exceedingly on Nikolai to clean up his messes.

The driver's carefully maintained existence is jarred, however, when Anna (Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts), resolves to trace the lineage of her patient’s baby. The task sends her directly into a terrifying London underground inhabited by immigrant sex slaves and the people who profit from them.

With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks, and with Anna pressing her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided.

Several lives – including his own – hang in the balance as a harrowing circle of murder, deceit, and retribution tightens around him. Who can, or should, he trust?

You know what to do to find that out.

All I will say is when Cronenberg and Mortensen get together to make a film, the results can be outstanding (see: 2005’s A History of Violence), and incredibly challenging at the same time.

The actor delivers a devoted and nuanced performance that reveals the many layers of his character and will help you digest Eastern Promises more easily. For some the violence will prove gratuitous, but trust me, the film is not exploitative. This is a violent world we live in. Eastern Promises shows us there is hope in the bleakest of places.

My Rating ***1/2

Photo: Focus Features.