Interesting crime thriller, with a great twist in the tail .
Disadvantages:
Violence is very graphic .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
FILM ONLY REVIEW ~~~~~~~
I was dragged along to watch this by my 16-year-old daughter and didn't even know what the movie was about, or who the director or leading actors were until I got to the cinema. Mostly I only go to the cinema to watch movies that I am very keen to view, and simply can't wait until they are released on DVD. This means that I usually go to the cinema already somewhat biased towards liking the movie, but in this instance I went with an open mind and a totally unbiased view. This movie totally blew me away, and was absolutely riveting viewing from start to finish.
So what's it about? It's a crime story about the Russian Mafia, or more precisely about the Russian Mafia in London. British actress Naomi Watts plays Anna, a nurse in the maternity wing of a London hospital, who grows very attached to a newly born baby whose 14-year-old junkie mother dies during childbirth. The dead mother has left a diary, and when Anna (of Russian extraction herself) has it translated it leads her to the owner of a local, high class Russian restaurant and reveals a truly horrific story of cruelty, people trafficking, crime, drugs, and prostitution. But the polite and courtly old owner of the restaurant Semyon (played by Armin Mueller-Stahl) is more than he appears, and is actually the head of the Russian Mafia family that is responsible for the girl's death, and for the terrible crimes the diary details. Naturally, Semyon is very keen to destroy the diary and anyone who has read it. His main "enforcers" are his sadistic, alcoholic son Kirill (played by Vincent Cassel) and his main lieutenant and driver Nikolai. (Played by Viggo Mortensen) They are entrusted the task of "cleaning up the mess", but Nikolai has taken a shine to Anna!
I must be one of the few people who didn't watch Viggo Mortensen in the part of Aragorn in the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy, but I quickly recalled watching another movie called "A History Of Violence" (2005) in which he played one of the main characters, and which was directed by David Cronenberg who is also the director of this movie. Mortensen is a very intense actor, and his portrayal of Nikolai is superb. He gets the character of Nikolai off to perfection. Brooding, intense, capable of extreme violence and yet with a underlying soft core, and most of all mysterious. You realise almost from the start that there is more to Nikolai than meets the eye! The film has come in for some criticism for its scenes of *VERY* graphic violence, in particular a scene in the steam room of a public baths, where Nikolai fights for his life against two Russian thugs while dressed only in his birthday suit. I have to say I think the criticism is unjust, as the world of the Russian Mafia is without doubt a violent one, while the fight scene itself is shot with unflinching realism and an eye for detail. I didn't find the fight scene at all offensive, and think that posterity will probably mark this scene out as one of the truly great fight scenes in cinematic history.
The movie explores the murky world of the Russian Mafia in great detail, including their use of body tattoos to detail their criminal history, such as what family they belong to, their rank in the organisation, and what prison sentences they have served. This is all done against the backdrop of London streets, and the "Vory V. Zakone" family make the Corleone and Soprano mafia families look like pussycats! It also explores the shady world of international prostitution and racketeering, and casts a little light on how many Eastern European girls end up finding themselves on the streets and in the brothels of Western Europe, when they are conned by these gangsters. This is a topic that is very close to the bone here in the Republic of Ireland, where many Eastern European girls have recently been released from forced prostitution by the actions of the police.
Recommended to those of you who like your crime thrillers with a "twist in the tail", but be warned. Although I personally didn't find the violent scenes upsetting, they *ARE* very graphic, and are not for those with a squeamish stomach.
