“My feelings? About ten years ago, I hid them somewhere and haven't been able to find them.”
-- Whit Sterling from Out Of The Past
“I should have killed you back in Philly.”
-- Tom Stall from A History Of Violence
“Forget any of this happened. Stay away from people like me.”
-- Nikolai Luzhin from Eastern Promises
Twenty years ago, I witnessed my first real fight. I was sixteen years old when I saw the effects of flesh pounding flesh take place. It was a party up the road from my parent’s house. The typical high school party where I first learned the rules that you deliver the goods to the crowd. I knew both boys who were fighting with each other. I had never seen real blood come from punching machines before. It left a vivid impression on me. Long after the fight had ended, after many hours of driving around, I had returned home. I told my Mom everything that had transpired earlier. For me, it was the ultimate experience of seeing bloodshed up close and personal. I must drive by that house several times a week. The impact forever sealed on my memory.
Since Spider, David Cronenberg has taken a visceral and realistic approach to bloodshed. That is not to say what came before was child’s play, but what has come after is very raw and unsettling. The Canadian director captures violence and its raw fallout like no other. This is not comic book violence. Every blow feels real to the audience.
Eastern Promises continues a winning streak for David Cronenberg. It is the third film in a row that shows us a director who has come to terms to with his raw attraction to flesh and the violence associated with that flesh. Spider was a wake up call more for us than Cronenberg. It showed a director willing to cross his own Rubicon. He might have done this with Existenz and Crash, but Spider represented a goodbye to all that. Cronenberg takes Ralph Fiennes where we have not seen him before and we are the luckier for it. Fiennes’ Spider is one of his most rewarding performances. To do this film, Red Dragon and Maid In Manhattan in the same year shows a level of range that most do not possess over a single lifetime. Spider was only a warm up for A History Of Violence-- a film based on John Wagner and Vince Locke’s 1997 graphic novel of the same name. It tackles the repressed, violent soul of Tom Stall/Joey Cusack. Who better to bring out the catharsis of American violence than Viggo Mortenson? Mortenson continues his run as Cronenberg’s visual arm in Eastern Promises. Their two films back to back prove that this director and actor work very well together. Mortenson has had such a varied career. sp far. He won immortality as Aragorn in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and rightfully so. Before and after those films, he has had audiences fixated with his performances in A Walk On The Moon, A Perfect Murder, Witness, Crimson Tide, The Indian Runner, The Young Americans, Hidalgo, Albino Alligator and countless others. Yet, it is for David Cronenberg that he has saved his best work; Aragorn was merely a ticket to see something better and more profound. Tom Stall in A History Of Violence was only the tip of the iceberg. Eastern Promises’ Nikolai is a progressive throwback to his darker days. Mortenson’s Nikolai with his chiseled features and cheekbones recalls the Kirk Douglas of The Strange Love Of Martha Ivers and Out of The Past. Remember the days when Kirk Douglas was a bad guy. Mortenson’s Nikolai is the perfect compliment to his role from A History Of Violence. Nikolai is the Joey Cusack who never went into hiding. As with Christopher Walken, Jeremy Irons, Oliver Reed, Peter Weller, Jeff Goldblum and Ralph Fiennes, Cronenberg manages to give his leading actors some of the most memorable roles of their careers.
Eastern Promises follows the life of the Russian born, Nikolai Luzhin, a driver for one of the London’s most notorious Russian Mafia families. The family is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. The family is headed by Semyon, played with vicious cunning by Armin Mueller-Stahl. Semyon is the pleasant face of the Trans Siberian Restaurant in London, but beneath the surface, his Semyon is a cold and calculating monster who will do whatever it takes to stay at the top of the London underworld. This is Stahl’s most sadistic turn since his performance as the Nazi War Criminal, Mike Laszlo, in Music Box. Nikolai’s careful routine is broken when he crosses paths with Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts). As an actress, Naomi Watts seems to possess the courage and risks that Nicole Kidman used to take. Watts’ post- King Kong career continues to show an actress taking unexpected risks. Watts’ Anna has been affected by the death of a young Russian girl who has given birth to an infant. Anna is desperate to find out the lineage of the infant girl. Her quest takes her to opposite ends of the spectrum—her Russian born Uncle Stephan (Jerzy Skolimowski) and to the Russian criminal underworld headed by Stahl’s Semyon. She finds a diary belonging to the dead girl-- a diary soaked in the blood of immigration and strife. Her uncle, Semyon and Nikolai are all active participants in the reading of the diary. Her Uncle urges her to stay away from the likes of Nikolai. Nikolai urges her to stay away from him and his kind. The diary is a powder keg that has ramifications throughout London.
Mortenson’s Nikolai is nothing we expect. He is a distant cousin of the ruthless Russian Mafia hit man, Joshua Shapira, played by Tim Roth in James Gray’s Little Odessa. Like Roth’s Shapira, Mortenson’s Nikolai makes his rounds in London while Shapira did his business in Brighton Beach, but Nikolai has so many shades to his character. For a driver, he seems to have earned the resentment and distrust of everyone around him. Who is he? He is the driver for Semyon’s family. His 47 tattoos tell a larger tale. He finds trust in Semyon’s son, Kirill played by Vincent Cassel in a career defining performance. He seems to channeling Tim Roth’s Shapira in his role as Semyon’s enforcer. The teaming up of Cassel and Mortenson is a wonderful combination. Given Cassel’s volatile work in La Haine, Brotherhood Of The Wolf, Read My Lips, Crimson Rivers and Irreversible; this is a teaming up for the ages. Kirill is a loose cannon; he is Sonny Corleone without the bravado and brotherly love. Whores and a deep resentment of his father define Kirill. He seems more loyal to Nikolai than his father. Stahl’s Semyon in some scenes comes across as Don Corleone in a much harsher tone. In one scene where he is talking down to Mina E. Mina’s Azim, one could be forgiven for thinking he is watching a stunning homage to the opening scene of The Godfather. One is almost begging to hear Semyon say:
“Bonasera... Bonasera.”
We have visited this London before. Steven Knight’s intelligent script recalls his 2003 scripted film Dirty Pretty Things. Stephen Frears was able to work his magic and bring Knight’s tale to life about the immigrant side of life in London. Cronenberg delves further into the immigrant’s tale by weaving a complex tale of the Russian criminal underworld in London. Howard Shore comes back once again to give us another unforgettable score. Shore’s sonic desires continue to compliment Cronenberg’s visions. This partnership shows no sign of winding down anytime in the near future. Eastern Promises contains one of the finest and most unique action sequences since the hammer corridor fight in Oldboy. Nikolai does battle with two Chechen hit men in a bathhouse in the nude. Nikolai has been betrayed and set up. It is the epitome of Cronenberg’s visual lust for violence. It is one of the most thrilling sequences I have seen in years. The scene alone is worth the price of admission. It is a testament to David Cronenberg’s skill and range that he still knows how to make flesh bleed in new and different ways. As with real life, we are never comfortable with the throat slashes and the other deep flesh wounds. Eastern Promises delivers!
The twist at the end, you have to take on faith!
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