Promises promises

From the director of "A History of Violence" comes "Eastern Promises", an intelligent thriller delving into the world of the Russian mafia and modern slavery. It won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. I daresay that Viggo Mortensen is quickly becoming David Cronenberg's muse. He gives a marvelous performance as Nikolai, the mysterious chauffeur of an organized crime family. He can go from ruthless,charming, tender, sometimes all at once. (Not to sound pervy because it wasn't gratuitous at all,but for Viggophiles, he has a four minute nude fight scene. Brave man for doing the scene in the buff. Who knows what could have happened? Props to the fight choreographer.) Armin Mueller-Stahl (Semyon) is appropriately creepy as the patriarch who cooks borscht and decorates birthday cakes for centenarians when not ordering people to be killed. Naomi Watts (Anna) is the mid-wife who delivers the baby of a Russian teenager. When the mother dies, Anna becomes entangled with the mob in her search for the girl's family. Steven Knight, who wrote "Dirty Pretty Things" again exposes London's seedy underbelly with a look at human trafficking this time. The film can only be brutal, given the plot, almost daring you to look away from the blood and violence. But the screenplay is also full of humor, complete with a wacky uncle. What haunts you is the poverty that leads people to leave their homes in pursuit of a better life, lured by promises of job opportunities in other countries. These women and children end up in the sex trade, hard labor, domestic service or sweat shops. Maybe this provocative film can raise awareness and help combat trafficking.