Eastern Promises 2007
Viggo Mortensen stars in the captivating Violent Story directed by acclaimed filmmaker David Cronenberg. Written by Oscar-nominated Steve Knight, the film follows the mysterious and charismatic Russian Nikolai Luzhin (Mortensen), who works as a driver for London’s most violent and dangerous Eastern European crime family, part of the crime organization called the Law Thieves. Nikolai’s life, protected by the powerful but enigmatic Semyon (Armin Muller-Stahl) and controlled by his despotic and two-faced son Kirill (Vincent Cassel), is turned upside down when he meets Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts), a nurse at a North London hospital, on Christmas day. Anna witnesses the death of a young girl during childbirth and is determined to find the girl’s remaining family. With the help of her mother Helen (Sinead Cusack) and Russian uncle Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski), who warns her to stay away from the criminal world, Anna delves into the dark and violent underworld of the Thieves organization through the girl’s diary. As Nikolai learns the true nature of the criminal world through Anna’s diary, his loyalty to his family is tested, leading to a series of events filled with murder, lies, and revenge echoing in the darkest corners of London.
