Eastern Promises
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Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 35 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 193 Ratings

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  • Starring: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen
  • Summary: 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 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, brutal core--the family is 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, which is written in Russian; thus, 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. (Focus Features)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    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.
  2. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Glenn Kenny
    100
    One of Cronenberg's subtlest, most insinuating pictures, and one of the highlights of the year so far.
  3. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Pete Vonder Haar
    80
    A genuinely engrossing film.
  4. Empire
    Reviewed by: Dorian Lynskey
    60
    Mortensen shines but a contrived, issue-driven plot destabilises what could have been a great Russian gangster movie.

See all 35 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 92
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 92
  3. Negative: 18 out of 92
  1. LuciD.
    10
    This is for an educated audience. (not for a supposed 8-year-old niece that can write a script about Russian organized crime as noted in a non-critical bashing review) The mind-set is for the R rating, maturity and international crime solving group. Viggo Mortensen received a long deserved Oscar nom for his ability to get into his character's skin on this one. Well worth the watch and will put you on the edge of your seat; as well as open-a closed mindset.… Expand
  2. DanielT
    8
    Flawed, yes. But it's both riveting and compelling. The primary reason I rate this movie as "good" to "very good" is that it brings to light some important issues and is entertaining. If you want highly authentic material however, this isn't the film.… Expand
  3. CharlotteP
    7
    Mortensen was mesmerising, so much so I almost forgot the farrago of LOTR. It wasn't the same person. He was effortlessly menacing, yet still human; the plot and all the rest of the actors moved around him in the shadows - except for Armin Mueller Stahl who was (literally) the only genuine Russian. Vincent Cassel gave his usual panto performance. Naomi Watts was weak and couldn't transcend the implausibility she was being asked to cover up for.

    Everything tailed away somewhat disappointingly after a powerful first half and I was left watching the closing credits wondering what kind of fool I'd just been taken for. But at least I watched the closing credits because I was still thinking about it.    … Expand
  4. csw12
    3
    The best way to describe Eastern Promises is a boring bloody mess that is completely anti dramatic. A movie that piles cliché after cliché whihile tries to hide its lack of originality with gruesome violence.… Expand

See all 92 User Reviews

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