Free Screening for NFC Members
Free sneak preview of the new film “Eastern Promises”
Thursday, September 20th, 7:30pm at Regal Hollywood 27
You may bring one guest to this screening.
Please arrive early as seating is limited and therefore not guaranteed.
Don’t forget your NFC card! (You MAY receive a physical pass from NaFF staff upon arrival.)
Synopsis of “Eastern Promises”
Dir. David Cronenberg, 96 min.,UK/Canada/USA, 2007, Rated R for strong brutal and bloody violence, some graphic sexuality, language and nudity.
Cronenberg again teams with his A History of Violence leading man Viggo Mortensen. As in the earlier film, director and star together explore the psyche, physicality, and fortunes of a man whose true nature may never be wholly revealed.
Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin (Mortensen) is a driver for one of London’s most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. Headed by Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of the plush Trans-Siberian restaurant impeccably masks a cold and brutal core, the family’s fortunes are tested by Semyon’s volatile son and enforcer, Kirill (Vincent Cassel), who is more tightly bound to Nikolai than to his own father.
But Nikolai’s carefully maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts), a midwife at a North London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the desperate situation of a young teenager who dies while giving birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try to trace the baby’s lineage and relatives. The girl’s personal diary also survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks answers in it.
Anna’s mother Helen (Sinéad Cusack) does not discourage her, but Anna’s irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski) urges caution. He is right to do so; by delving into the diary, Anna has accidentally unleashed the full fury of the Vory. With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks and Anna pressing her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. The family tightens its grip on him; who can, or should, he trust? Several lives - including his own - hang in the balance as a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution reverberates through the darkest corners of both the family and London itself.
Questions or comments? Contact info@nashvillefilmfestival.org or call (615) 742-2500.