Eastern Promises

I recently saw "Eastern Promises" and it was an amazing movie. It is a very good gangster movie that depicts organized crime very well. It stars Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. If most people still remember Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn from "Lord of the Rings" he breaks away from Aragorn very well. He plays a gangster very well and is very believable. He puts had a Russian accent which he does very well. He has found is calling as a mobster. He and the director David Cronenburg worked together in "History of Violence" where he played a mobster there too. It seems like these two are becoming like Martin Scorsese and Leonardo Dicaprio, one directs and the other stars. If you liked "History of Violence" you will certainly like "Eastern Promises" it is not a let down in any way.

It is the story of a gangster Nikoilai Luzhin (Viggo Mortensen) who is a driver for the Vory V Zakone mob family in London. He is friendly with the bosses son and is trying to work his way up in the family. He meets a midwife (Naomi Watts) who is trying to find out about a girl who died while giving birth to a baby. She discovered a diary the girl kept and searches to find out more about the girl and it takes her to a Siberian restaurant where the Vory V Zakone family operates out of. She discovers the underground world of the mob this girl was involved in and gets in over her head with the mob.

If you have heard anything about this movie it is that is bloody and brutal, and it certainly is. There is a good deal of bloodshed and violence, so if you are queasy and can not held the site of blood this is not the movie for you. Right in the opening scene there is a murder of a gangster and it is nothing short of bloody. Unlike other movies that try to be tough and violent, "Eastern Promises" is not one of those, it is a gritty film and that what makes it great. It makes the movie believable and more realist.

One of the biggest scenes which most people have probably heard of, is the scene in the steam room where Viggo Mortensen fights off two gang members who are trying to kill him. It is a very graphic scene and Viggo Mortensen is fully nude. The scene is a big deal because of the nudity and violence and it certainly does not let it down at all. Also the Vory V Zakone have tattoos all over there body as a way of telling there life story. This tradition is very important to these people and the more tattoos you have the more of a person you are. To signify your a gang members they have tattoos of a star above their heart and on their knees. The knees is to say that no Vory V Zakone gets on their knees for no one.

"Eastern Promises" is a very good movie and I encourage anyone who likes good movie or gangster movies to go out and see this movie. The acting and directing is great, both go all out to make this movie believable and good. I would give it a 9/10 and in my opinion is a little bit better than "A History of Violence". So go check out this movie!