Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen) is a hard-nosed thug. He is tough and emotionless; he fears no one, not even his crime lord boss. He is quiet and lives by his own code. He is old school.
Yet, when you look into his eyes, you see something completely different. Nikolai is a character out of the old Westerns, a quiet, stoic man who lives by his own values. There’s only one problem. He’s the bad guy.
Mortensen steals this show. Naomi Watts delivers a good performance as Anna, but you hardly notice her. She is but a tool to uncover the dichotomy of Nikolai’s character. Why is she so drawn to him? Why does he make her feel safe? What drives him? This is the duality and conflict Peter Jackson was dreaming of when he cast Mortensen as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings.
Eastern Promises is a brutal film. It is dark, it is rugged, and it is tough, but it has a heart underneath all the grit. This is Nikolai’s story, and Mortensen captures the essence of that story with every glance. He speaks little, telling his story with his eyes. He is a man to be feared, but you can’t help being drawn to him. It is the same with this film.
– 297 arbitrary stars