A terrific, tight, violent, homo erotic thriller with a soul and a heart and if that wasn't enough, Viggo Mortensen! He is an astonishing actor, he's always been. But now his Russian "I'm just a driver" goes further than most actors would have dared. He is magnetic. Cronenberg designs two lives again for him but this time the universe where he lives is made of monsters with an accent. The splendid Armin Mueller-Stahl's bonhomie doesn't fools us for a moment. "A diary?" That's enough for us to know and to fear. Vincent Cassel is also terrific and his down, tactile moments with Viggo Mortensen, have an erotic undercurrent that is impossible to ignore. Naomi Watts brings the heart to the proceedings without ever being sentimental. David Cronenberg, I feel, is entering a spectacular new face to his already remarkable career.
Review of Eastern Promises
