Eastern and promising

Movie review of "Eastern Promises".
Published on facebook.com, 2nd October 2007.

Excellent composite of gangster themes from the likes of Goodfellas, The Godfather, and others but with a European backdrop. Plot cleverly links the roots of post-Soviet Bloc underworld mafia dealings with modern day London. Excellent individual performances from Mortensen and Watts in particular, and thoroughly believable screenplay that packs no punches. Left 'hanging' for a possible follow-up but excellent in its own right too, as the quasi-cliffhanger, unresolved ending makes you reflect on the film back from the beginning again as if to say, "Well, it wasn't meant to be about that so it must've been about something else....?" Strongly recommended, though note there are a couple of squeamish bits in it.