The film follows the mysterious and ruthless Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), who is tied to one of London’s most notorious organized crime families. His carefully maintained existence is jarred when he crosses paths with Anna (Naomi Watts), an innocent midwife trying to right a wrong, who accidentally uncovers potential evidence against the family. Now Nikolai must put into motion a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution.

Viggo Mortensen and David Cronenberg may be the next power director/actor duo ala DiCaprio and Scorsese. 2005’s A History of Violence (reviewed here) directed by Cronenberg and starring Mortensen was a phenomenal film. Eastern Promises follows suit. Like History of Violence, Eastern Promises is a subtle film with sporadic explosions of disturbing violence and raw depictions of everyday life. Despite the brutality or because of it, the simplicity and the subtlety in directing and the laconic dialogues make for a beautiful piece of art unlike most of the films this year. Cronenberg has a directing style that is unparalleled in some cases. Think Ang Lee meets Scorsese. Subtle meets random acts of brutal violence. But, with Cronenberg’s trademark depictions of basic or crude aspects of life.

In one scene Mortensen’s character Nikolai is fighting for his life naked and brutally in a London bath house. Although Nikolai is one the two main characters in the film, and the film is no where near done, you’re not too sure he will survive. He’s tattooed, naked, struggling with knives against two very large (dressed) men in a steam room. I was routing for Nikolai because his character was harsh but redeemable, sympathetic.

Eastern Promises is a perfect balance in story development and plot realization. You don’t quite know what’s going to happen with or to Anna (Watt’s character) and what role Nikolai (Mortensen’s character) will really play. You know he’s on the bad side of the law, but is he a good guy? Will Anna push to hard to find what happened to Tatsiana, who mysteriously dies but leaves a new born behind?

As a writer, Eastern Promises has the kind of beauty, subtlety, intelligence and natural human contrariness I aspire to and appreciate. As a film enthusiast, it’s an amazing thing to see on screen, something so delicate and deep mixed perfectly with such violence and raw humanity. I think Eastern Promises is a phenomenal addition to what I hope to be a long string of films feature the Cronenberg/Mortensen duo. Rent it! Love it!