‘My name is Tatiana. My father died in the mines in my village, so he was already buried when he died. We were all buried there, buried under the soil of Russia. That is why I left…to find a better life.’
Those were the last lines uttered by the voice over at the end of the movie. However, was she able to find the better life she chose to live or drowned her being to the Russia’s underworld?
Eastern Promises is a 2007 British[3] crime thriller film directed by David Cronenberg, from a screenplay written by Steven Knight.
There is this 14-year-old pregnant girl named Tatiana. She is begging for help at a convenient store as she severely bleeds. After she collapsed, she was sent to the hospital to deliver the baby. However, during the operation, she was not able to make it and died.
The hospital’s midwife, AnnaKhitrova (Naomi Watts) took care of the baby since the family was not yet traced. The only thing left for her to find the baby’s family was a diary and a card leading to the Trans-Siberian restaurant, which is owned by Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), an old vor in the Russian Mafia. Anna asked for her uncle Stepan’s (Jerzy Skolimowski), help in translating the diary’s texts but he urged caution.
Along Anna’s search for the baby’s father, she found out that it was Semyon. He and his son, Kirill (Vincent Cassel) forced Tatiana to prostitution, addicted her to heroin and raped the minor girl. So what Semyon did, he ordered Nikolai, the family’s driver and trusted worker to have a deal with anna. He will tell everything about the baby’s relatives if only Anna will hand them the diary.
Nikolai Luzhin (Viggo Mortensen) is a FSB agent and senior police officer under duty. Before Semyon got the diary and burned it, he was able to read everything written on it so he was able to have a plan for Semyon’s arrest with the statutory rape case, with a paternity test of Tatiana’s baby as evidence.
In fear of imprisonment, Kirill tried to kill the baby but Nikolai and anna were able to stop him and calm him down. In the end, Semyon flew somewhere, Kirill and Nikolai worked together on the restaurant and the baby was left under Anna’s custody and named her Cristine.
The story is very interesting. It contains violent scenes. For example is the scenario on the barbershop I guess, where guns beheaded the man, bursting his blood all around; the other one is when the boy is peeing and same thing, he was beheaded, showing that his head was being detached from his neck, gross. The other one is Nikolai’s bathroom, hot and violent scene, guns tried to kill him. He was naked while doing the fight scene, striking the enemy’s eyes, stomach, head, etc.
The movie is also thrilling. It came to point that the whole class was tensed and assuming what will happen next. We were asking questions with our seat mates when there is a scene where we cant understand.
Life is mysterious. You have to expect the unexpected. If ever you have the chance to change destiny, choose the better direction. And If fortunate enough, the best one.
TRIVIA:
What do Nikolai’s tattoos mean?
- Three Cupolas (Towers) on back: Three terms in prison;
- Virgin Mary with Child on abdomen: I am true to my friends / My conscience is clear (could also mean “prison is my home”);
- Raven on shoulder: Death, I am not yours;
- Starburst on finger: I became a criminal because of poverty and a broken home;
- Cross on finger: I was in the Crosses (a prison in St. Petersburg);
- Black-and-white diamond on finger: I deny official authority / I disobeyed rules while in prison;
- Grim Reaper on abdomen: Death is always waiting for me;
- Sun and sea with Cyrillic”CEBEP” (north) on back of hand: I was in prison in the CEBEP, (pronounced ‘sever’)
- Crucifix on chest: Professional Thief / I will not betray you;
- Skull on shoulder: Stay away from me / Murderer;
- Tattoos around ankles: “Where are you going?” and “What do you care?” written in Russian.
(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765443/faq?ref_=tt_faq_3#.2.1.12)
NASAH. 