Eastern Promises (2007)
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A midwife's discovery of a child's tragic past leads her into a dangerous confrontation with the Russian Mafia in London.
The story
Anna Khitrova, a Russian-British midwife in London, delivers a baby girl to a dying 14-year-old girl named Tatiana. Upon discovering Tatiana's diary, Anna learns the girl was a victim of human trafficking by the Russian Mafia. When the baby's life is threatened by the mob's leadership, Anna must navigate a dangerous underworld to protect the child. She finds herself caught between the demands of the ruthless Russian syndicate and the desperate need to find the girl's family, all while being warned off by the mob's menacing enforcers.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Tatiana dies in childbirth, Anna Khitrova discovers from the girl's diary that she was a victim of the Russian Mafia. Anna seeks to find the girl's family, despite warnings from her uncle, a former KGB officer. She meets Semyon, the owner of the Trans-Siberian Restaurant, who is secretly a mob boss. Meanwhile, Semyon's son Kirill is a reckless drunk, and his bodyguard, Nikolai Luzhin, is a lethal 'cleaner.' The plot thickens as Anna learns the extent of the abuse Tatiana suffered. Semyon confronts Anna, and she is forced to trade the diary for information. During a tense negotiation, Semyon orders the disappearance of Anna's uncle. It is later revealed that Nikolai is actually an undercover FSB agent. After a violent confrontation with rival gang members, Nikolai is injured and taken to the hospital. He eventually reveals his true identity to the authorities and informs Anna of the truth. In the final act, Anna finds Kirill with the baby; Nikolai and Anna convince him to give the child up. Nikolai takes over the organization, and Anna adopts the baby, naming her Christine.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 101
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; Canada
- Original languages
- English; Russian; Ukrainian
- Directors
- David Cronenberg
- Writers
- Steven Knight · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Viggo Mortensen · Nikolai Luzhin; Naomi Watts · Anna Khitrova; Vincent Cassel · Kirill; Armin Mueller-Stahl · Semyon
- Genres
- gangster; crime; thriller
- Themes
- human trafficking; identity; duality
- Tone and mood
- gritty; violent; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- crime; mafia; undercover
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim, particularly for the cast's performances, and was a modest box office success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 89% · scale: percentage · review count: 198; Metacritic · score: 83 · scale: 100 · review count: 35
- Awards and nominations
- Satellite Award · Best Actor in a Motion Picture · win; British Independent Film Award · Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film · win; Genie Award · Best Supporting Actor · win; Genie Award · Screenplay · win; Genie Award · Cinematography · win; Genie Award · Editing · win; Genie Award · Musical Score · win; Genie Award · Overall Sound · win; Genie Award · Sound Editing · win; Academy Award · Best Actor · nomination
- Production trivia
- It was David Cronenberg's first film to be shot entirely outside Canada.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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