Eastern Promises

"Every sin leaves a mark."

2007 1h 40m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 3,868

ThrillerCrimeMystery

Synopsis

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A Russian teenager living in London dies during childbirth but leaves clues in her diary that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.

“Every sin leaves a mark.”

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Cast

Viggo Mortensen
Nikolai Luzhin
Naomi Watts
Anna Ivanovna Khitrova
Vincent Cassel
Kirill
Armin Mueller-Stahl
Semyon
Sinéad Cusack
Helen
Donald Sumpter
Yuri
Jerzy Skolimowski
Stepan
Josef Altin
Ekrem

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Cronenberg
Writers: Steven Knight
Languages: English, Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu
Countries: Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $52M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Cronenberg, shot by Peter Suschitzky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ronald Sanders shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Cronenberg directs. Peter Suschitzky behind the camera. Howard Shore scores. Ronald Sanders cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $52M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 19 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu.
4International production across 3 countries: Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Directed by David Cronenberg, shot by Peter Suschitzky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Ronald Sanders shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Every sin leaves a mark.".
10IMDB entry: tt0765443 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 22 themes, including "chauffeur", "london, england", "prostitute", "jealousy".

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky
Original score: Howard Shore
Editing: Ronald Sanders
Production design: Carol Spier
Costume design: Denise Cronenberg
Makeup / hair: Charmaine Fuller
VFX supervisor: Aaron Weintraub
Sound: Mark Zsifkovits
Stunt coordinator: Paul Herbert
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $51,500,000
Box office: $56,106,607
Return: 109% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Eastern Promises (2007)

Awards

Saturn Award for Best International Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

David Cronenberg

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andre Gonzales2023-07-12
★ 4/10
Really dumb boring movie. I'm just glad that I got this movie for free and didn't have to waste money on this garbage movie.
CinemaSerf2024-03-10
★ 7/10
"Anna" (Naomi Watts) in the well meaning midwife who wants to repatriate a recently orphaned child with the family of it's deceased mother. All she has to go on is a diary, in Russian, so she takes it to her uncle "Stepan" (Jerzy Skolimowski) who doesn't really want anything to do with it! There's another clue, though - a card that leads her to a restaurant where she meets "Semyon" (Armin Mueller-Stahl), his rather obnoxious son "Kirill" (Vincent Cassel) and his henchman "Nikolai" (Viggo Mortensen). She gets the older man to agree to do some translating for her, but in the meantime her uncle has also decided to have a go after all - and what "Anna" soon discovers sends a shiver down her spine! She now has an idea as to the paternity of the child, but given what she is now experiencing, she faces quite a quandary in knowing what is best (and safest) to actually do. As she and her own family become more embroiled in the perilous antics of London's gangland activities, it might be that she needs to rely a little on "Nikolai" - the only piece on the board that might be able to help. What now ensues is a well acted and scripted story of power, violence brutality and family - and woe-betides anyone who crosses the hierarchy from the mother country. Watts is on good form here and of the men, Mortensen competently takes the top billing - but it's Cassel - usually a good character actor - who stands out here as the vodka-swilling and truly odious brute, and as the denouement looms the tension is palpable and the conclusion anything but predictable. This works better on a big screen if you can as that evokes a better sense of a London with an evil underbelly, but either way it's still at the better end of the vicious crime genre.