Eastern Promises (2007)
85%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
28 wins & 74 nominations total
David Cronenberg triumphs again, showcasing the Viggo Mortensen’s onscreen prowess in a daring performance. Bearing the trademarks of psychological drama and gritty violence, Eastern Promises is a very compelling crime story
If you’re looking for a movie that’s equal parts thrilling and disturbing, Eastern Promises is the perfect pick. Viggo Mortensen’s performance is so subtle and nuanced that you’ll be questioning everything you thought you knew about him. And while the nude fight scene might not be everyone’s cup of tea, it’s definitely a memorable moment in the film. Plus, the 4K transfer is absolutely stunning. Just be prepared for a fatal turn towards the end that might leave you feeling a bit disappointed. Overall, Eastern Promises is a dark and brooding gangster epic that’s not for the faint of heart.
Production Company(ies)
Am Psycho Productions, Lions Gate Films, Muse Productions,
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Thames Barrier, River Thames, Woolwich, London, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong brutal and bloody violence, some graphic sexuality, language and nudity
Year of Release
2007
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital DTS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 40m
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Language(s):English, Russian, Turkish, Urdu
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Country of origin:United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 14, 2007 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 26, 2007
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinead Cusack, Donald Sumpter, directed by David Cronenberg, written by Steven Knight, crime, mystery, thriller, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Derek Smith, Deborah Ross, Alonso Duralde, Amy Nicholson, Nikolai, Anna, Kirill, Semyon, Yuri, MPAA rating R, nudity, language, graphic sexuality, strong bloody violence, strong brutal violence, produced by Paul Webster, Robert Lantos
Worldwide gross: $56,107,312
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $80,377,534
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,128
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,765,271
US/Canada gross: $17,266,000
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $24,734,717
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,341
US/Canada opening weekend: $547,092
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $783,746
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,308
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): £25,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Naomi Watts – Anna
Vincent Cassel – Kirill
Armin Mueller-Stahl – Semyon
Sinead Cusack – Helen
Donald Sumpter – Yuri
Director(s)
David Cronenberg
Writer(s)
Steven Knight
Producer(s)
Paul Webster, Robert Lantos
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
28 wins & 74 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (203) | Top Critics (59) | Fresh (181) | Rotten (22)
The extras are all but perfunctory, but Kinos exquisite 4K transfer is easily the best that Eastern Promises has looked on home video to date.
April 25, 2022
Derek Smith
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Such are the actual subtleties of Mortensen’s performance – the odd sardonic smile; the slight tightening of a look – you’re aware, from the off, that what he is on the outside might not have anything to do with what he is on the inside.
August 23, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
Eastern Promises has a lot going for it, which makes it all the more disappointing when the story takes a fatal turn towards the end.
May 1, 2008 | Rating: 3/5
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC
TOP CRITIC
Despite Viggo’s total gorgeousness, a nude fight-for-his-life in a steam room has all the titillation of a butcher throwing down a slab of meat.
February 22, 2008 | Rating: B-
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Its subtext, which is about sex and violence and the way one often dovetails with the other, and the skill of its making, render it gripping enough.
October 26, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Cronenberg is his own master, still ready to throw in the sort of scene few other directors could dare.
October 26, 2007 | Rating: 3/5
Anthony Quinn
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Viggo Mortensen gives a fascinating performance in this dark and violent journey full of secrets, fidelity and family. [Full review in Spanish]
May 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Fico Cangiano
CineXpress Podcast
Beyond the film’s eroticized violence and secretive world among the brutal Russian gangsters, Cronenberg also tells an immigrant story about people who want a better life only to find their desire exploited.
April 4, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Full of whispery menace, marked by probing studies of masculinity at its extreme boundaries, punctuated with bursts of sexual and violent excess, and coping with an abrupt ending.
April 1, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The dark and brooding world of the Russian Mafia makes for thrilling movie material – and the jumping point for a contemporary gangster epic.
November 24, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
An intricate and mesmerizing thriller, featuring stellar performances (especially by Mortensen, who gives the bravest performance of his career) and an excellent script by Steven Knight
June 5, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Despite the problems with the characterisations, Cronenberg’s portentous, withholding camera creates a compelling tension around Watts and Mortensen’s love/hate scenes.
October 12, 2018
Dan Sallitt
Senses of Cinema…
Plot
THIS SUMMARY CONTAINS SPOILERS. In London, pregnant Russian teenager Tatiana arrives bleeding to a hospital, and the doctors save her baby only. Russian-descendant midwife Anna Khitrova finds Tatiana’s diary written in Russian language in her belongings and, deciding to find her family and bring them the baby, she brings the diary home and asks her uncle Stepan to translate the document. Stepan refuses, but Anna finds a card of a restaurant owned by the Russian Semyon inside the diary and visits the old man trying to find a lead to contact Tatiana’s family. When she mentions the existence of the diary, Semyon immediately offers to translate the document. However, Stepan translates part of the diary and Anna discovers that Semyon and his sick son Kirill had raped Tatiana when she was 14 and forced her to work as a prostitute in their brothel. Further, Semyon is the dangerous boss of the Russian mafia “Vory v Zakone”, jeopardizing the safety of Anna and her family. Meanwhile, Semyon’s driver Nikolai Luzhin gets close to Kirill and Semyon, climbing positions in the criminal organization, but he helps Anna, her family, and the baby.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Viggo Mortensen delivers a “menacing, cold-blooded” performance in Eastern Promises, according to one audience review.
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