Trailer: Eastern Promises
Synopsis:
The new thriller reteaming acclaimed director David Cronenberg with
his A History of Violence leading man Viggo Mortensen, Eastern
Promises is written by Steve Knight (Academy Award-nominated
screenwriter of Dirty Pretty Things).
As in the earlier film, director and star together explore the
psyche, physicality, and fortunes of a man whose true nature may
never be wholly revealed. The mysterious and charismatic
Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin (Mr. Mortensen) is a driver for one of
Londons most notorious organized crime families of Eastern
European origin.
The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal
brotherhood. Headed by Semyon (Academy Award nominee Armin
Mueller-Stahl), whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of
the plush Trans-Siberian restaurant impeccably masks a cold and
brutal core, the familys fortunes are tested by Semyons volatile
son and enforcer, Kirill (Vincent Cassel), who is more tightly
bound to Nikolai than to his own father. But Nikolais carefully
maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at
Christmastime with Anna Khitrova (Academy Award nominee Naomi
Watts), 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 babys lineage and relatives. The girls personal
diary also survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks
answers in it. Annas mother Helen (Sinéad Cusack) does not
discourage her, but Annas irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan
(Jerzy Skolimowski) 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.
Production Stills: (Swiped from Yahoo
Movies)
