Eastern Promises (Cronenberg, 2007)

"Eastern Promises" is such a colossal disappointment because it is such a generic film. The Russian setting could have been any other setting (Italian, Hong Kong - any culture where the social roots have gang members in their midst) and its desire to encapsulate a Godfather like family atmosphere is misplaced in the London setting. A last minute twist, involving the character of Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) is sudden, incoherent and almost stale compared to present day movie standards. Steven Knight's screenplay is similar to his work on "Dirty Pretty things" but here it seems too efficient and tidy with its resolution. This is one film which a lot of people have made immense hoopla about but I didn't see any reason why, save for some great performances especially by Armin Mueller-Stahl as the cunning, strong willed Russian patriarch.

By now I have also grown tired of Cronenberg's use of his trademark, excessive violence. It is gratuitous, and yes pointless and unnecessary, despite the claims of many that this is not so. The film has a plain, simple, straightforward style; this is admirable, but it is also pedestrian and despite the efforts of many viewers to draw parallels to other previous Cronenberg films, I found the entire thing both tiring and rundown in its own excesses. An overall disappointment, even if, like most Cronenberg films, this one too ends in a finely enigmatic moment and addresses his themes of duality of identity.

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