Director David Cronenberg, has come along way in style, but has kept many of the same ideas throughout his films. From his low budget horror films of the 70s, to his “body horror” works like Videodrome and The Fly, to his most recent film, A History of Violence, Mr. Cronenberg has always been more curious about how violence pulls us both toward and away from ourselves than violence itself. His latest work, and possibly on the surface his most simple, Eastern Promises, is a subtle and curious examination of the secrets of one world infecting on another. After two violent and gruesome opening sequences, we reach Naomi Watts as Anna, a nurse at a hospital who takes a diary from a young unidentified girl who dies giving birth. Written in Russia, Anna follows what clues she can get to a restaurant run by Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Kind in word, but strong in methods, Semyon is the local leader of the Vory V Zakone, a group of the Russian Mafia that began in Stalinist prisons, who mark themselves with tattoos to tell their stories. Working for Semyon is his son, the reckless and dangerous Kirill, played with strong conviction by Vincent Cassell (Ocean’s 12), and Nikolai, played by Viggo Mortenson (who collaborated with Cronenberg on A History of Violence). Nikolai claims to be simply a chauffeur for the family, but as it becomes apparent, Nikolai can do more than just drive a car. As Anna dives deeper in, for reasons that slowly come apparent, the world of the Vory V Zakone starts to unfold. Instead of being a simple criminal procedure, Cronenberg and screenwriter Steve Knight (Dirty Pretty Things) avoid all common clichés to make this an extremely engaging drama. It is not the who or what that is the question here but the why. Cronenberg attracts us to this world slowly and subtly, engaging us by our curiosity toward these characters. Though his visual touch is not as apparent as in A History of Violence, his atmosphere develops just the same. Much of this film depends on its actors, who shine in these very dark roles. Watts drives us through as our conscious, but hides her true motives through her naiveté, creating a character, who apparently vulnerable, invests her life into something she really has no idea about. Cassell, a character actor who has proved himself a great in comic roles, engulfs himself into the Kirill. It’s a violent, showy performance that despite all his hatred and evil, becomes sympathetic in moments. But once again, Mortenson proves himself one of the great actors of his generation. In Violence, he played a small town man who was actually a killer, but convinced us through his performance that he was only the former. Here, Mr. Mortenson plays an even more complicated, and subtle role. He makes us question his motives at every point within the film, questioning our logic scene after scene. There is also something of his screen presence. He stands firm and sure of himself, but we are never sure of him. And one extremely violent sequence, which I won’t give away but will sure be the talk of those who see this, show his physical commitment to the character. Mortenson has been slowly building an impressive resume, but this should launch him into any role he wants. Maybe not as impressive as his previous feature, but another great one nonetheless, Eastern Promises is a simply intriguing and frightening character study that will be sure to impress fans of Cronenberg’s work and maybe add new fans as well.