Unexpected Greatness

I haven't written a review in a while, but felt compelled to for Eastern Promises, a film I had no knowledge about before heading into the theater last night. In fact, the only reason my girlfriend and I watched it last night was because the theater complex was being renovated and only had 3 movies playing on a Friday night! After the first half hour, I noticed the big named stars, Viggo Mortensen as a convincing Russian driver/gangster speaking in a perfect accent. Cue in Naomi Watts in another solid, though not particularly spectacular portrayal as a concerned hospital worker trying to figure out the story behind a raped girl's sudden death.

If you've read anything about this movie so far, you'll probably read that it has a twist at the end that left some viewers confused or even upset. To me, the twist was minimal to the storyline and really had no impact to me as far as how I viewed the first three-quarters of the film. I could deal with or without it since I really felt like the movie would be great regardless.

Another small tidbit I realized after the film was over was that David Cronenberg directed. His last film, A History of Violence, left a real bad taste in my mouth and I couldn't understand why so many critics raved about how great it was. Eastern Promises, however lived up to any preconceived expectations and I'll certainly recommend this film to any fan of a good crime drama.

Comparison: The Departed with better acting and one of the most memorable fight scenes in film history.

10/10