I don’t think I’d heard of Eastern Promises before it was recommended to me. I like movies involving organized crime, violence and Viggo Mortensen so I decided to rent it. It’s nice to watch a movie with no real expectations or understanding of plot because you’re just along for the ride. I rarely experience that these days.
The plot is actually deeper than it appears for much of the movie. For the first 45 minutes I felt it could have gone either way, but was pleased with the direction. Towards the end you begin to realize it’s more a thinker than gangster flick and that’s a good thing. The movie had no qualms about graphic violence but it wasn’t so superfluous as to detract. It also wasn’t afraid of full frontal male nudity, which I think says a lot about Mortensen’s devotion to his craft.
I have to be honest and say I’m not really sure how to rate this movie. It wasn’t groundbreaking but it was far better than a lot of movies I’ve seen in the last few months. It was along the same vein as A History of Violence, but I don’t think it as good as it lacks the depth in social commentary that made HoV. It’s definitely worth a rent, if for nothing else than to see a good actor doing his job well.