Eastern Promises (2007) ****

Eastern Promises (2007) is an affecting gangster film on a small scale, which serves as both familial drama and a compelling character study. It features one of the best examples that I can recall of a detached performance by Viggo Mortensen (in a career best), and a show-stoppingly brutal and beautifully choreographed fight sequence. EP does an excellent job of incorporating heavy topics like teenage prostitution, rape, and the patriarchy without ever coming off as a message movie. Howard Shore's somber score heightens the tragedy of David Cronenberg's best of his late period work.

You can find my David Cronenberg Feature Films Ranked list here.

You can find my Top 20 Directors list here.