As an avid moviegoer to action films that have the potential to keep me on the edge of my seat I went to Eastern Promises the opening night. Having never taken Art of Film I usually look down upon the opinions of critics that think they have the right to tell me what I should think about a movie… but, I had to read the “great” works of Roger Ebert. Unfortunately, I’ll have to admit he wasn’t full of crap when writing his review for the Chicago Tribune. In part it wasn’t that bad because I agree with the man, but I still think his writing style is quite cynical—then again that is his job.

The review ended up praising the work of director Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises as opposed to his later work in A History of Violence that also included Viggo Mortensen. “’Eastern Promises’ had its world premiere Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival and opens today in major North American markets; I have studied its trailer, and it doesn't give away a hint of its central business.” Roger Ebert specifically commented on how it was an unexpected turn that no one would have known via the trailer or the first hour of the movie. I’d definitely have to agree with this considering I had no idea that Viggo Mortensen would reveal himself later in the movie to something that would greatly change the plot and how I thought of his character Nikolai.

Apart from highlighting the director’s work, Mr. Ebert also stresses the importance of Viggo Mortensen’s role as a Russian. “No, Mortensen is not Russian, but don't even think about the problem of an accent; he digs so deeply into the role you may not recognize him at first.” I agree with this fully. I went into the movie theatre half expecting to see glimpses of a farm boy with a gun (History of Violence) and a sword wielding King entitled Aragorn Son of Arathorn (LOTR). None of these characters came up once during the movie. From his near nude scene to being an undertaker I didn’t see the slightest glimpse of humbleness. Overall, Viggo’s character reveals itself (do to the twist) to be a kind, courageous, and loving being.

“The actors and the characters merge and form a reality above and apart from the story, and the result is a film that takes us beyond crime and London and the Russian mafia and into the mystifying realms of human nature.” For the first review that I have probably ever read, this guy is pretty good. The “realms of human nature” of which he speaks are the type of things that keep me thinking after a movie. Greed, instinctive survival tactics, love, and jealousy are a few of the naturally occurring themes that resolve themselves in Eastern Promises. This is the type of stuff that gets you to think considering it applies to most of us… just not in the sense of Russian mafias in the heart of London

At the end of the movie I noticed that nobody moved, including myself. I stayed in my seat waiting for the film to sink in so I could start analyzing and picking it apart. It didn’t happen for about 45 seconds until finally I said “that was pretty damn good”. I highly recommend if you’re into the plot twisting action films.