Eastern Promises UHD Review

Eastern Promises explores violence and the darkness that people are capable of, balanced by the humanity of those who find themselves caught up in that darkness. Director David Cronenberg, a wonderful craftsman, found great success exploring the complexity of human life in simple strokes – grounded tales of human awfulness and the streaks of kindness and hope that somehow break through. In this film he gives us moments that can make us wince with their unabashed brutality followed swiftly by moments that enthrall us with more elegant and softer views of humanity’s tragic side. Eastern Promises is a promise you should keep and one that seems to get better with age.

The Production: 4.5/5

“My name is Tatiana. My father died in the mines in my village, so he was already buried when he died. We were all buried there. Buried under the soil of Russia. That is why I left, to find a better life.”

Anna (Naomi Watts), a midwife in a London hospital, seeks to find any relatives of a young Russian girl who died shortly after giving birth. Anna finds the girls diary but, despite being born of a Russian father, cannot speak or read the language. Following a clue to a local Russian-owned restaurant, Anna meets the owner, Semyon (Armin Mueller Stahl), who offers to translate the diary to help Anna locate the family of the dead girl. What Anna does not realize, is that the diary holds secrets about the Russian mob, the Vor V Zarkone, and the restaurant owner is the head of that criminal family.

Anna meets Nikolai (Viggo Mortenson), the driver for Semyon’s son, Kirill, outside the restaurant. They quickly spark an interesting and dangerous relationship driving surprising emotional drama. With Anna’s life at risk from the secrets contained in that diary that could tear the Vor V Zarkone apart, a web of uneasy maneuvers begins.

After the team up of Director Cronenberg and actor Viggo Mortensen in 2005’s skilled A History of Violence they quickly worked together for their second collaboration in Eastern Promises, and it did not disappointed. The film is subtle, patient, and powerful, a feat hard to find of this caliber. A grounded, natural, and bleak tale of violence and sadness that explores how different people see and react to the world they find themselves in. The essence of almost every Cronenberg film I can remember is about people dealing with things outside what’s normal for them and things thar are beyond their control. They are also about how the best and worst can be brought out in each of us, and how we justify those actions to ourselves and to others.

Eastern Promises, with a similar pace to A History of Violence, is brooding and deliberate dotted with shocking and grizzly moments throughout. And like History, the story surrounds how men with secrets bury them just beneath the surface but never deep enough that they cannot be seen if you are really looking.

Eastern Promises is a simmering and brutal thriller with a cast of outstanding players bringing the seedy and dark underworld of a Russian crime family to life. Viggo Mortenson as Nikolai is mesmerizing. This role continued the proof that Mortenson can play complicated, likeable characters to of all sorts and play them exceptionally. In Nikolai, his portrayal is measured, bringing out a calm, sinister streak balanced with a caring and good-natured side that helps further define Viggo as one of the most interesting actors in American cinema today. The casting of Naomi Watts as Anna is another one of the film’s strengths. Watts exudes an everyday normality amongst the incredible circumstance with utter believability and strength. Watts, who has proven herself repeatedly with roles in 21 Grams, The Ring and Peters Jackson’s King Kong as having a depth of talent, is fascinating to watch. Along with stars Mortenson and Watts, the remaining cast is exemplary, with Armin Mueller Stahl as the boss, Semyon, and French actor Vincent Cassel as his son, Karill, standing out.

The work of David Cronenberg has fascinated me since I was eleven and saw his incredible remake of The Fly for the first time in 1986. Since then, I’ve sought out all his earlier films and all his films since and found a fascination with his intensely thrilling and curiously gory storytelling. Going to the theater to see Naked Lunch, I was captivated and perplexed equally by the unusual story and film. Cronenberg has a distinct vision and manages to tell very human tales in the throes of often very violent and bloody circumstances. Each of his beguiling films has ordinary and extraordinary people in situations they often don’t initially understand. Even his more peculiar films like eXistenZ portrayed characters finding their way through unusual, violent, and dangerous territory that they were only just beginning to understand. In Eastern Promises, Cronenberg delivered a sad, dramatic, tense, and superbly crafted thriller, with layers of intimacy and emotion. Eastern Promises is a film that has lost nothing of its edge or power.

Video: 5/5

3D Rating: NA

Kino Lorber brings Universal’s Eastern Promises for the first time on 4K, approved & color graded by Cinematographer Peter Suschitzky, and it’s terrific. Rainy, dark imagery in moderately lit rooms and corners of London’s streets, this release is a wonderfully balanced presentation and a delight. The detail is life-like, flesh tones muted – expected for London in winter – and the black levels incredible. Speaking of flesh tones, the affluent and older characters with redder tones also appear natural. The image is filmic, grain appears natural, and the colors, when present, pop beautifully. The scene following the football match pops with Chelsea’s Blue and dashes of red are vibrant. The HDR grading (Dolby Vision) brings out a stunning quality to the film. The film’s brooding sense takes on a heighted sense of reality and a vibrancy that stands out vividly.

Audio: 4.5/5

Audio-wise, Kino has given us both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 track. The film has a quiet sense about it, hushed or quiet conversations, the subdued sounds of London, and the exquisite music courtesy composer Howard Shore, who’s violin-led score imbues the cultural influences of the crime families. When the violence does kick in, the surrounds become active, and the often rain-soaked scenes envelop nicely. While not highlight material, the audio serves the picture superbly.

Special Features: 2.5/5

The 4K disc contains no special features. All the extras are on the accompanying Blu-ray.

As with the HD-DVD release back in 2007, the amount of special feature content is light though there is a new and interesting interview, courtesy of Kino Lorber, with the screenwriter discussing the film and its origination. Two key special features, Secrets and Stories gives us a look at the film and has conversations with director Cronenberg and star, Viggo Mortenson. Then Marked for Life offers up a quick featurette about the tattoos, what they mean in the sub-culture, the language, stories, and symbology, and how they were used in the film. The rest of the archive special features came from the Blu-ray release.

• New interview with Screenwriter Steven Knight
• Secrets and Stories: Featurette with Director David Cronenberg (10:32)
• Marked for Life: Featurette with David Cronenberg (6:42)
• Two Guys Walk Into a Bath House: Featurette with David Cronenberg (1:55)
• Watts on Wheels: Featurette with Naomi Watts (0:55)
• Theatrical Trailer One (2:22) (Newly Mastered in 2K)
• Theatrical Trailer Two (1:54) (Newly Mastered in 2K)

Overall: 4.5/5

Eastern Promises explores violence and the darkness that people are capable of, balanced by the humanity of those who find themselves caught up in that darkness. Director David Cronenberg, a wonderful craftsman, found great success exploring the complexity of human life in simple strokes – grounded tales of human awfulness and the streaks of kindness and hope that somehow break through. In this film he gives us moments that can make us wince with their unabashed brutality followed swiftly by moments that enthrall us with more elegant and softer views of humanity’s tragic side. Eastern Promises is a promise you should keep and one that seems to get better with age.

Neil Middlemiss

Neil has been a member of the Home Theater Forum reviewing staff since 2007, approaching a thousand reviews and interviews with actors, directors, writers, stunt performers, producers and more in that time. A senior communications manager and podcast host with a Fortune 500 company by day, Neil lives in the Charlotte, NC area with his wife and son, serves on the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Charlotte Board of Directors, and has a passion for film scores, with a collection in the thousands.