Fridae

David Cronenberg's last film The History of Violence made it to almost every single critic's best-of-2006 list. His new film, Eastern Promises, is nearly as good as Violence, and it serves as a companion piece to it. Once again, David has cast Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings) at his lead actor, and Viggo rises to the challenge admirably.

This dark and complex crime drama opens with an anonymous drugged-up teenage girl giving birth at a London hospital. The girl dies but the baby survives. Naomi Watts, the midwife, tries to track down girl's family so the baby might be cared for. But the only clues Naomi has are the girl's diary written in Russian and a card of a Russian restaurant tucked within its pages.

Naomi goes to the restaurant to enquire about the girl's identity, and unwittingly becomes involved in the affairs of a Russian mafia boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl), his gay son (Vincent Cassel) and the son's chauffeur (Viggo Mortensen). We soon discover how drugs, murder, torture and child prostitution are all part of these men's trade...

Eastern Promises is a dark and brooding meditation about good and evil in men, and the shades in between those extremes. Viggo Mortensen's complex character represents those shades of grey. Between carrying out the most heinous of crimes and casually flirting with his gay boss, he tries to do good where he can. Naomi, as the misguided do-gooder, and Vincent, as the crazy mobman, give solid support.

Occasionally gruesome and very violent, Eastern Promises is a compelling gangsterama. Most deservingly, it has received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor, Best Drama and Best Score.