Eastern Promises (2007)
Film Statistics
Director: David Cronenberg
Writer: Steve Knight
Genre: Drama
Release Date: September 14, 2007 (limited)
MPAA Rating: R
Distributor: Focus Features
Status: Available on DVD
Cast
- Viggo Mortensen
- Naomi Watts
- Vincent Cassel
- Armin Mueller-Stahl
- Sinead Cusack
- Donald Sumpter
- Jerzy Skolimowski
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Synopsis
The mysterious and charismatic Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin is a driver for one of London's most notorious
organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal
brotherhood. Headed by Semyon, whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of the plush Trans-Siberian
restaurant impeccably masks a cold and brutal core, the family's fortunes are tested by Semyon's volatile son
and enforcer, Kirill, who is more tightly bound to Nikolai than to his own father. But Nikolai's carefully
maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova, a midwife at a North
London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the desperate situation of a young teenager who dies while giving
birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try to trace the baby's lineage and relatives. The girl's personal diary also
survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks answers in it. Anna's mother Helen does not discourage her,
but Anna's irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan urges caution. He is right to do so; by delving into the diary,
Anna has accidentally unleashed the full fury of the Vory. With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks and Anna pressing
her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. The family tightens its grip on him; who can, or
should, he trust? Several lives - including his own - hang in the balance as a harrowing chain of murder, deceit,
and retribution reverberates through the darkest corners of both the family and London itself.
Written by Focus Features
Other Titles
- Promesas del este (Argentina [Festival Title] / Spain)
- Promesses de l'ombre, Les (Belgium [French Title] / France)
- Epikindynes yposheseis (Greece)
- Keleti ígéretek (Hungary)
- Promessa dell'assassino, La (Italy)
- Promesses de l'ombre (Canada [French Title])
- Sark vaatleri (Turkey [Turkish Title])
- Tödliche Versprechen (Germany)
Trivia
- Naomi Watts discovered she was pregnant with her son Alexander two weeks into shooting this movie. She initially
tried to hide it, but costume designer Denise Cronenberg found out about it.
- Naomi Watts spent time at the Whittington Hospital for the role as a midwife.
- Kate Beckinsale and Rachel McAdams were originally considered for the female lead before Naomi Watts got the part.
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