David Cronenberg focuses on the Russian mafia in Eastern PromisesTattoos are hip and easy to get for anyone so inclined. But in the world of the vory v zakone, brought to life in Eastern Promises -- the latest film from Canadian auteur David Cronenberg -- they are earned in blood. In the words of the film's tagline (a clever and perhaps unwitting nod to Biblical teaching) "every sin leaves a mark". With this film and 2005's A History of Violence, Cronenberg is becoming almost a mainstream director, but many themes and preoccupations from his earlier cult classics of cerebral horror are still there. Cronenberg is a highly intellectual director and a master of his craft. Nothing is wasted in Eastern Promises. Not the superb performances of his four leads (especially the amazing Naomi Watts) or the fascinating script from Steven Wright. Some Oscar nominations should be forthcoming. It's a taut 100-minute thriller with a strong moral sense. It's dark and as relevant as today's headlines -- sex trafficking and exploitation of young women by the Russian mafia is a reality -- but hope is not wholly overcome by the darkness.
This brings me to the most fascinating aspect of the film for this viewer. Eastern Promises begins with the birth of a child on Christmas Day and ends on New Year's Day with that child becoming a source of new hope and possible redemption for three of the main characters. Taking it further, the Apostle John said that "the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil". By movie's end this child has become the means of destroying the devil of this story, the grandfatherly crime boss Semyon (Mueller-Stahl). Well, one dares not take this any further and I don't want to give too much of the plot away. There isn't a virgin birth in Eastern Promises, and the child is a daughter not a son -- Christine "because it sounds like Christmas" -- but I found this film to be surprisingly hopeful and richly metaphoric of "the myth that came true" that Christians will be celebrating three months from tomorrow.
STEPHEN'S GRADE A-
Wow, that is heartbreaking. John's cousin experienced almost the same thing and it was the most painful thing I've seen somebody go through.
ReplyDeleteHello and thanks for coming to my blog!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to meet another person who reads the same books as I do! ;)
I like Vigo's acting, so thanks for the review. With two young ones, I don't get out much...
Okay, not at all really!
I hear you! I have that "not getting out much" to look forward to (God willing).
ReplyDeleteViggo is a terrific actor. Watching him in this film it was hard to believe it was the same guy who played Aragorn, although he brings an enigmatic quality to all his roles.