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EASTERN PROMISES (2007)
Directed by David Cronenberg
:: Cast ::
• Viggo Mortensen .... Nikolai Luzhin
• Naomi Watts .... Anna Khitrova
• Vincent Cassel .... Kirill
• Armin Mueller-Stahl .... Semyon
• Jerzy Skolimowski .... Stepan
• Mina E. Mina .... Azim
Sinéad Cusack .... Helen
• Donald Sumpter .... Yuri |  |
:: Synopsis ::
The mysterious and charismatic Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin is a driver for one of London's most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. Headed by Semyon, whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of the plush Trans-Siberian restaurant impeccably masks a cold and brutal core, the family's fortunes are tested by Semyon's volatile son and enforcer, Kirill, who is more tightly bound to Nikolai than to his own father. But Nikolai's carefully maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova, a midwife at a North London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the desperate situation of a young teenager who dies while giving birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try to trace the baby's lineage and relatives. The girl's personal diary also survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks answers in it. Anna's mother Helen does not discourage her, but Anna's irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan urges caution. He is right to do so; by delving into the diary, Anna has accidentally unleashed the full fury of the Vory. With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks and Anna pressing her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. The family tightens its grip on him; who can, or should, he trust? Several lives - including his own - hang in the balance as a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution reverberates through the darkest corners of both the family and London itself.
:: Photos & Media ::
    
Production Stills
Screen Captures
Behind the Scenes
   
Trailers & TV Spots
Film Scenes
Featurettes
:: Trivia ::
• Eastern Promises reunited Viggo with director David Cronenberg for the second time. Their first collaboration was A History of Violence (2005).
• In preparation for his character, Viggo traveled alone to Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Ural Mountain region of Siberia, spending weeks driving around without a translator. He studied the gangs of the vory v zakone ("thieves in law"), read books on Russian prison culture and the importance of prison tattoos as criminal résumes, and perfected his character's Siberian accent and learned lines in Russian, Ukrainian and English. During filming, he used worry beads made in prison from melted-down plastic cigarette lighters and decorated his trailer with copies of Russian icons.
• For his work in the film, Viggo earned his first Academy Award nomination, as well as lead acting nominations from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTAs.
:: Links ::
http:// Official U.S. Site
http:// Official U.K. Site
http:// Official French Site
http:// TFL-Approved Fanlisting |
