Critic Reviews
Eastern Promises (2007) Rank 4 Reviews
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hybridmagazine.com
Eastern Promises is the second collaboration between Canadian director Cronenberg and leading man Mortensen, and like their previous work A History Of Violence this one pushes the audienceâs limits offering full frontal male nudity, graphic violence and ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at hybridmagazine.com
Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)
It's a mouthful of blood with a vodka chaser. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)
Contra Costa Times (Mary F. Pols)
Eastern Promises isn't particularly long, but it feels full -- full of tension and excitement and beautifully staged scenes. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Contra Costa Times (Mary F. Pols)
eFilmCritic.com (Brian Orndorf)
Eastern Promises isn't so much a motion picture as it is a master class in performance nuance and tonal control...an extraordinarily threatening crime saga made with unnerving skill and exquisite detail ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Brian Orndorf)
Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
In its assured pacing, framing, cutting and detail, the film takes on an almost supernatural air. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
Film Scouts (Jason Gorber)
It starts very well, and we're immediately drawn into this world of dead pregnant teens, the Russian mob, the hermeneutics of tattoos and the archetypal disappointment of a father with his son. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Film Scouts (Jason Gorber)
Projection Booth (Rob Humanick)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
A film that takes us beyond crime and London and the Russian mafia and into the mystifying realms of human nature. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
Cronenberg here is at his twisted, brilliant best ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
Eastern Promises is not just one of this year's best films, it is also my pick for the best David Cronenberg movie to date. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Aisle Seat (Mike McGranaghan)
Newsday (Jan Stuart)
Whether in cloaked repose or naked defense, Mortensen dares you to take your eyes off of him. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Newsday (Jan Stuart)
Can Magazine (Fred Topel)
I didn't make a whole lot of notes during Eastern Promises because there wasn't a whole lot to critique. It does what it does expertly. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Can Magazine (Fred Topel)
Twitch (Michael Guillen)
The reviews are pouring in on David Cronenbergâs Eastern Promises, and all-in-all theyâre quite favorable. It scored the highest among the select jury compiled by Screen Daily at the Toronto ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Twitch (Michael Guillen)
The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)
There are several moments in "Eastern Promises" that warrant discussion. The bloodletting that opens the film, for example, or the way someone puts out a cigarette with his own tongue before casually cutting up a corpse. You remember things like that. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at The Land of Eric (Eric D. Snider)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg ("The Dead Zone"/"Rabid"/"Naked Lunch"), one of the world's best, teams up again with History of Violence star Viggo Mortensen for this devilishly intelligent and most entertaining followup film that's also a crime ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Foote on Film (John H. Foote)
Earlier in his career David Cronenberg had a reputation for being a director of horror films, though in recent years he has evolved as a director, moving in different areas and quietly becoming one of the most gifted directors working in cinema. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Foote on Film (John H. Foote)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Anna (Naomi Watts) is a London midwife on a mission. Sheâs determined to learn as much as she can about a baby whose mother was involved with ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
Raimi, Jackson, Cronenberg. How is it that onetime horror directors are becoming some of our best filmmakers? After driving the tongue-in-cheek âEvil Deadâ series to cult acclaim, Sam Raimiâs biggest shock ended up being the depth of 1998âs taut ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
Film School Rejects (Nate Deen)
A dark, blatant, and in-depth look into the underworld of the Russian Mafia, David Cronenbergâs Eastern Promises is vastly superior to his previous feature, A History of Violence, in almost every aspect of filmmaking. The first scene is a bloody one tha ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Film School Rejects (Nate Deen)
eFilmCritic.com (Rob Gonsalves)
At first glance, it may seem out of character for director David Cronenberg â master of twisted body-consciousness films like 'The Fly,' 'Dead Ringers' and 'Crash' â to take a tour of the Russian underworld of London in his new film 'Eastern Promises. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Rob Gonsalves)
efilmcritic.com (Dan Lybarger)
As he matures, Canadian director David Cronenberg takes seemingly conventional movie ideas and finds compelling angles that most other filmmakers ignore. On the surface, âEastern Promisesâ is a grim, hard-hitting look at Londonâs Russian mob, but ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at efilmcritic.com (Dan Lybarger)
RogerEbert.com (Jim Emerson)
Eastern Promises is shockingly gorgeous, for all the ugliness it portrays. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at RogerEbert.com (Jim Emerson)
Eclipse Magazine (Sheldon Wiebe)
This film leads us to wonder how far we would go to do the right thing in such circumstances - all the while entertaining us with his dark humor, intense characterizations and moments of explosive violence. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Eclipse Magazine (Sheldon Wiebe)
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
David Cronenberg's latest is a fairly traditional gangster story. It's not too long, and it doesn't particularly have anything to say about the gangster genre the way GoodFellas or Miller's Crossing did. With less violence and graphic language and maybe ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)
If there is one unifying theme that links the films of David Cronenbergâboth the icky horror extravaganzas such as âScannersâ and âThe Flyâ and the disturbing psychological dramas like âDead Ringersâ and âA History of Violenceââit is t ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)
Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
A fresh blast of toxic air that lingers. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)
With Oscar season almost upon us, "Eastern Promises" fires the first shot in the race for the golden boy. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)
Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" opens with a throat- slashing and a young woman collapsing in blood in a drugstore, and connects these events with a descent into an underground of Russians who have immigrated to London and brought their crime family ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
I see award nominations all over the place here--it is simply a crackling arthouse of talent in every craft. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
In many ways, "Eastern Promises" is a harsh, sobering picture. But what the hell, allow me to go on about the most extreme parts first! Right from the start, there's a botched assassination in a barbershop that's sure to make you take notice. A bit later ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
Channel 4 Film (Matthew De Abaitua)
A violent taut thriller that explores an entirely different moral universe: Hackney. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Channel 4 Film (Matthew De Abaitua)
ColeSmithey.com (Cole Smithey)
The personal diary of a Russian girl who dies while giving birth at Christmastime attracts the attention of Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts), a ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at ColeSmithey.com (Cole Smithey)
musicOMH (Neil Dowden)
It boasts a suspenseful screenplay by Steve Knight, who also wrote Stephen Frearsâ Dirty Pretty Things, a shocking exposé of the exploitation of Londonâs migrant workers. Whereas that film revolved around the illegal body-organ trade (albeit lapsing ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at musicOMH (Neil Dowden)
EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
Reinvention may not be the right tern to describe the current phase of the supremely gifted Canadian director David Cronenberg, but he is certainly on a roll, making more accessible films, with high-profile stars, that remarkably do not compromise his ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
Variety
A superbly wrought yarn set in the milieu of first-generation Russian mobsters in London that is simultaneously tough-minded and compassionate about the human condition, "Eastern Promises" instantly takes its place among David Cronenberg's very best ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Variety
Movie-Vault.com (LaRae Meadows)
Eastern Promises gives us a glimpse into Russian organized crime in London and what happens when an innocent person gets wrapped up in its seedy existence. Amazing visuals and beautiful acting make Eastern Promises worth seeing. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Movie-Vault.com (LaRae Meadows)
Filmjerk.com (Brian Orndorf)
"Eastern Promises" isn't so much a motion picture as it is a master class in performance nuance and tonal control. It's a feature that drills into the senses, building an atmosphere of anxiety and ambiguity that strangely never imposes itself on the ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Filmjerk.com (Brian Orndorf)
Film Freak Central (Walter Chaw)
London as a murky wood filthy with wolves. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Film Freak Central (Walter Chaw)
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (Linda Cook)
Ah, September is here. And with it arrive the "serious" movies. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (Linda Cook)
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
Grabs you, holds you, and won't let go. It's a film that you carry around with you for days after seeing it. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
The Cinema Source (Michael M. Dance)
In just a few months, as critics compile their Best-of-2007 lists, you'll start hearing about how '07 was such a horrible, wretched year for movies. It's inevitable; they say this whether or not it was a good year or a bad year. And hey, it's ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at The Cinema Source (Michael M. Dance)
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) (Randy Shulman)
After the movie ends, and you recall its various touchpoints, Cronenberg's work suddenly acquires unexpected retrospective depth. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) (Randy Shulman)
The Denver Post
A man meets his end, yammering, then not. A teenage mother dies in an ER delivery room. A child is born.
Death and birth ignite the slow burn of David Cronenberg's darkly thrilling crime drama "Eastern Promises."
Two years ago, when the Canadian ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at The Denver Post
Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
Eastern Promises will probably be remembered most for the nude fight scene featuring its lead, Viggo Mortensen. Although to only focus on that would be to lose sight of what a great movie it is overall. It is definitely one of the best movies of the year ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
The Age
I guess you could call Eastern Promises David Cronenberg's Christmas movie. It might be a tale of violence, murder, criminal gangs and grim moral choices but it is, after all, set during the festive season and the fate of a sought-after newborn child is ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at The Age
About.com Hollywood Movies (Rebecca Murray)
The second collaborative effort of filmmaker David Cronenberg and actor Viggo Mortensen doesnât quite live up to their first outing. While both this film and their first dramatic venture, A History of Violence, share a lot in common including the same ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at About.com Hollywood Movies (Rebecca Murray)
Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)
The film's genius performance belongs to the venerable Armin Mueller-Stahl, who plays the family head with a twinkling eye and an air of avuncular, Old World charm. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Dallas Morning News (Chris Vognar)
UGO (Brian Tallerico)
Love him or hate him, no one makes movies quite like David Cronenberg, a man who can take an otherwise cut-rate Russian mob thriller and turn it into something absolutely fascinating. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at UGO (Brian Tallerico)
Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)
Itâs pretty serious business in movie-loving circles to draw parallels between any film and The Godfather. Francis Ford Coppolaâs epic masterpiece is considered the pinnacle achievement of crime movies, as it amounts to far more than its genre might ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)
About.com (Rebecca Murray)
Mortensen and Watts shine and their terrific performances elevate Eastern Promises into a compelling drama worth checking out. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at About.com (Rebecca Murray)
Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)
It's only September but already we've had a full year's worth of bad films, from the adolescent fantasies of "Knocked Up" and "Superbad," to the bloated excesses of "Spiderman 3" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 3." But now we have what I hope will be just ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Movies 101 (Robert Glatzer)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)
Cronenberg is in the first rank of directors; no one should be surprised that Eastern Promises is a thoroughly enjoyable movie that, unlike most of the films it references, gets better the more you think about it. It's one of the year's best. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)
KPBS.org (Beth Accomando)
Eastern Promises reveals yet again what a master craftsman and artist Cronenberg is. His film is elegant in its ability to disturb. It serves up a twisted morality tale that flashes a fleeting and unexpected tenderness. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at KPBS.org (Beth Accomando)
I deplore graphic violence in movies. I think it desensitizes viewers and is somewhat responsible for some of the terrible crime in our society. When a horrific act is seen on the big screen, it can make actually performing the act less loathsome to ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at
Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Viggo Mortensen chews it up and spits it out as the corrupt centerpiece of maverick director David Cronenberg's searing mob ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Palo Alto Online (Jeanne Aufmuth)
New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
VIGGO Mortensen, playing a mysterious driver for a Russian mob boss in London, has an eye-popping nude fight sequence in "Eastern Promises," David ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
Toronto Star (Geoff Pevere)
Viggo Mortensen turns 50 next year, and he's one of those movie actors whom you want to see age. There's a menace that lurks beneath Mortensen's cool, taut exterior and it never comes as any surprise when it spills over and scalds anyone unfortunate ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Toronto Star (Geoff Pevere)
The Seattle Times (Moira Macdonald)
Russian-born Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) is so icy he puts his cigarette out on his tongue; you can almost hear, in its faint sizzle, a tiny death. In David Cronenberg's chilly, masterful thriller "Eastern Promises," Nikolai is the driver for an Eastern ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at The Seattle Times (Moira Macdonald)
d+kaz. Intelligent Movie Reviews (Daniel Kasman)
How is it that these last two movies of David CronenbergâA History of Violence and now Eastern Promisesâremind me of classical Hollywood movies? Cronenberg is no born-again Hawks, or even a Hawks-for-a-new-age (that description might better go to Mich ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at d+kaz. Intelligent Movie Reviews (Daniel Kasman)
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
There have been a number of great films about the Italianâor SicilianâMafia, most notably the first two âGodfatherâ pictures, but until now the Russian mob hasnât gotten its cinematic due. David Cronenberg changes that with âEastern Promises,â ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
New York Magazine (David Edelstein)
Fresh from their startling (if overpraised) and unbelievably brutal crime melodrama A History of Violence, David Cronenberg has reteamed with Viggo Mortensen for the startling and unbelievably brutal crime melodrama Eastern Promises. Mortensen again ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at New York Magazine (David Edelstein)
Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
If you can stomach Cronenberg's bloody style, then you'll probably like this kind of movie a lot more than I do. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
How like David Cronenberg -- the master of body horror as a path to the soul -- to begin his mesmerizing power-punch of a thriller with a hemorrhage. The bloody fetus that we watch a fourteen-year-old Russian girlâs uterus struggle to expel is a child o ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Chicago Tribune (Matt Pais)
Despite the warnings of her mother and uncle, London midwife Anna (Naomi Watts, slightly underused) digs into a powerful Eastern European organized crime operation. Her goal: to find someone to claim an orphaned baby, whose prostitute mother, Anna ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Chicago Tribune (Matt Pais)
The Spinning Image (Steve Langton)
David Cronenberg's latest film enters the twilight world of Russian organised crime in London's East End.
Nurse Anna (Naomi Watts) finds a diary amongst the personal belongings of a Russian teenage girl who has just died after giving birth. Anna ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at The Spinning Image (Steve Langton)
The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
Movies about gangsters: You expect a lot of noise. Shouting and screaming. Barrages of gunfire. Not here. Here we have somber reflection, the lurking gray peril of an urban underbelly, shifting shifty glances and unspoken threats. Eastern Promises is ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at The Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Sean Axmaker)
"You belong with nice people. Stay away from people like ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Sean Axmaker)
Boston Globe
In "Eastern Promises," David Cronenberg's hellacious new Russian mob movie, Viggo Mortensen finally comes of age as an actor and a movie star. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Boston Globe
Entertainment Insiders (Janos Gereben)
"Eastern Promises" will take your breath away, churn your stomach, and then leave you with memories of unforgettable characters as well as perplexing thoughts about good and evil. David Cronenberg's movie about Russian and Chechen mobsters clashing in ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Entertainment Insiders (Janos Gereben)
PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)
âSometimes birth and death go together.â Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts) is making a point about her own job as a midwife in North London, but sheâs also summing up the painful, irreducible cycle exposed in Eastern Promises. Annaâs ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at PopMatters (Cynthia Fuchs)
MovieWeb (Dodd Alley)
David Cronenberg is a filmmaker that has changed his palette throughout his career. There is certainly a distinction between the slimy, bodily horror of his 1983 classic Videodrome, and the 2005 rural-set gangster thriller A History of Violence. The ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at MovieWeb (Dodd Alley)
Box Office Prophets
Eastern Promises is about a midwife at a London hospital trying to rescue a newborn baby from foster care. The baby's mother was a 14-year-old Russian girl who died during childbirth and whose only form of identification is her ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Box Office Prophets
St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt)
As someone once said (it was either the Rev. Martin Luther King or Depeche Mode): "People are people, so why should it be that you and I should get along so ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt)
Hollywood.com (Brian Marder)
Just as the Russian Mafia tells stories through tattoos, it could be said that Eastern Promises is told through bloodshed. The splatter begins almost immediately, in the tone-setting opening shot, but itâs the ensuing scene that properly introduces the ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Hollywood.com (Brian Marder)
San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
In the great noir thriller "Chinatown," the allure - and implied threat - of that neon forbidden city is its unknowable exoticism: all the mysteries of the East, confined to a place so outside the hero's understanding that his only recourse when he gets ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at San Jose Mercury News (Bruce Newman)
New York Observer (Andrew Sarris)
I cannot easily recommend these delights to everyone, but my high regard for Mr. Cronenbergs stylistic virtues remains largely undiminished. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at New York Observer (Andrew Sarris)
Hollywood Reporter (Sura Wood)
Cronenberg's latest is as engrossing as it is creepy. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Hollywood Reporter (Sura Wood)
Lessons of Darkness (Nick Schager)
Its subtextual currents are more compelling than the actual narrative itself, which never wholly coheres into something satisfyingly suspenseful. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Lessons of Darkness (Nick Schager)
MTV (Kurt Loder)
Cronenberg's film has a distinctive somber sheen and startling jolts of perversity, and it could only be the work of one man, a director who demonstrates here, yet again, why he's one of the best. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at MTV (Kurt Loder)
Detroit News (Tom Long)
...manages to blend the clashing of cultures, family resentment, ugly heritage and the unlikely promise of new life without going in circles. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)
Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
A thriller can lead us into the fascinating intricacy of a criminal subculture, and Eastern Promises does that with the globalized Russian Mob. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
Compuserve (Harvey S. Karten)
There are gangster stories and then there are David Cronenbergâs gangster stories. Cronenberg, known for imaginative psychological pics like âThe Flyâ and âDead Zone,â and for his most audience-accessible work, the revenge tale âA History of ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Compuserve (Harvey S. Karten)
Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Cronenberg merges his intriguing worldview with writer Knight (Dirty Pretty Things) to create a haunting, unsettling thriller. It features strikingly good performances, as well as a realistic vision of London's darker, wetter corners. ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Bucket Reviews (Danny Baldwin)
A young, female foreigner (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse) walks into a London pharmacy, noticeably in pain and crying out for help. Seconds later, she falls to the floor, blood flowing from her body to her feet. The girl is rushed to the hospital, where she dies ...read the complete Eastern Promises movie review at Bucket Reviews (Danny Baldwin)
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