Eastern Promises

Every sin leaves a mark


Eastern Promises
Set in the gritty world of London's Russian mob, a nurse gets deeper and deeper involved in a kingship feud. After a patient, a girl, dies giving birth, the nurse is determined to find the baby's family. She has the dead girl's diary translated from Russian, but that leads her deeper into the underground. Meanwhile, the mafia boss's driver has plans for his boss's job, even if it means knocking off a few people close to him. He connects with the nurse, and finds himself in the middle of a fight revolving around her. Sensitive viewers should note that the violence is pretty graphic.

99 minutes.
No persons under 16 (Language, Sex, Violence).
Crime, Detective/Mystery, Drama, Thriller.

Not currently showing on the local cinema circuit.

My precious...
My precious...

Credits

Cast
Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinead Cusack, Donald Sumpter
Director
David Cronenberg
ScreenplaySteve Knight
MusicHoward Shore
CinematographyPeter Suschitzky
EditingRonald Sanders
Sound formatsDolby Digital, DTS
SoundtrackAvailable
Made in2007
Produced bySerendipity Point Films, Astral Media, BBC Films, Corus Entertainment, Focus Features, Kudos Film and Television, Scion Films Limited, Téléfilm Canada

Official Site | IMDB page | ScreenIt Report
Trailer: Medium

Film and Publications Board (FPB) Report (SA)

GenreThriller
LanguageVery strong, frequent
NudityModerate and non-sexual
SexVery strong, once
ViolenceVery strong, bloody, gory
PrejudiceOccasional, strong, contextualised
BlasphemyNone
Drug abuseNone
CommentsMature themes, high impact
These details are supplied by the FPB. If you have a problem with any of the above, please take it up directly with the FPB. Read the Classification Guidelines.

ScreenIt Report (USA)

Sex / Nudity
5
Violence
5
Blood / Gore / Gross
5
Guns / Weapons
5
Profanity
5
Alcohol / Drugs
4
Smoking
4
Disrespectful / Bad Attitude
5
Imitative Behaviour
3
Frightening / Tense Scenes
4
Jump Scenes
0
Tense Family Scenes
3
Music (Scary/Tense)
3
Music (Inappropriate)
2
Topics to talk about
3


Ratings

Scale (Max)20

What the Critics say

Cape Argus / The Star
Zane Henry
10
Die Burger
Francois Bloemhof
15
Cape Times
Carina Chocano
15
iAfrica.com
Nils van der Linden quote iconIt's not a pretty sight but the captivating Mortensen, in particular, ensures that you can never look away.
18
The Citizen
David Jenkin quote iconThis is an amazing film and will be known as one of Cronenberg's best.
17
Sunday Times
Barry Ronge
15
24.com
Megan Kakora
15
BBC
David Jones quote iconEastern Promises lacks the fully-fleshed domestic realism of Cronenberg's previous stab (or should that be gouge?) at the mainstream, his masterpiece A History Of Violence. But thanks to the mood, the murkiness and Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises is an instant cult classic.
15
Chicago Sunday Times
Roger Ebert quote iconThe actors and the characters merge and form a reality above and apart from the story, and the result is a film that takes us beyond crime and London and the Russian mafia and into the mystifying realms of human nature.
20
eye Weekly
Adam Nayman quote iconThe stars are fine but the movie doesn't quite align: Cronenberg's Organizatsiya saga has moments that are clearly the work of a singular talent, but it frequently plays as melodrama.
10
ReelViews
James Berardinelli quote iconPerhaps the director set the bar so high with The History of Violence (a flawed but at times brilliant motion picture) that there was no way he could equal it with Eastern Promises, but for him to fall so far short is nothing less than criminal.
10
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers quote iconThe film’s bristling invention and biting with can’t stave off the dread. Sure, it's hard to take. Consolation isn’t Cronenberg’s business. But art as a response to the terrors of modern life should be yours.
18
ScreenIt
quote iconIf not for the ending, this would be a near brilliant film, although certainly not for all viewers, especially the squeamish.
14
Metacritic.com
35 critics
16
Rottentomatoes critics
174 critics
15
Rottentomatoes tomatometer
Tomatometer quote iconA compelling thriller and a showcase for Mortensen's daring performance.
18

What the People say

Internet
31865 Netizens quote iconAn Actor's Courage
16

Average .. 76%

15




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