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Expensive cars, sadistic acts of violence, stylish suits & superb acting is what makes David Cronenberg's Russian-mob movie, Eastern Promises, a modern-classic. Better than A History Of Violence, a film on the same vein but not better than his bizarre-cult Videodrome and the sci-fi great The Fly.
Anyways, this film reminded me of GTA: San Andreas in some areas and I swear, the whole movie looks like a typical mission from the game. Hey, this is Russian-Turkish mobs we're talking about, with lotsa killings.
We're quickly thrown into the ruff-and-tuff world of rats-and-gangsters with the opening slitting scene. From there, the violence just snowballs with Naomi Watts in the lead as a nurse with some issues at home and her life. In this sans-Hurt & sans-Harris movie, Viggo Mortensen really gave a top-notch acting as the soft spoken Nikolai, the driver and even though I haven't seen much of his material, Vincent Cassel gave a convincing performance too as Kirill. I will keep an eye out for him in other movies. The big, hulking Armin Mueller-Stahl has a ominous aura around him and his presence just scares the shit out of you. I mean, when a man of his size appears onscreen, you expect them to pick up the other guy and strangle them to death with just their bare hands. Also, like any other Cronenberg movie, this one also has a keen focus on details and things.
Overall, this has become one of my favourite movie at the moment and yes, a rewatch is required and I gotta tell you, If you are not a major fan of History Of Violence or are not exposed to Cronenberg much, you may find this boring and long. I found it entertaining and very realistic but this is a major fan talking here and to me this was better than History Of Violence. If you are not a fan of slitting or cutting scenes, then pass this one off as you won't be missing much but fans who have seen his other 'non-realistic' movies will find this one better. Well, whether you like or not, I'm including it in my greatest movies list!
