Eastern Promises (2007, GBR/CDN/USA) C-100m. *** D: David Cronenberg. Starring Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinéad Cusack, Jerzy Skolimowski. Crime drama, a companion piece to Cronenberg's A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005), which also starred Mortensen. Here he plays a driver for the Russian mafia in London, who gets involved in midwife Watts' investigation into the death of a 14-year-old girl, who gave birth to a baby in her hospital. Heavy-going at times, almost solemn, the lack of action is made up for by scenes of harsh blood-letting. Film wraps up nicely, which makes up for the fact that it's a bit too talky and stagey. Written by Steven Knight, score by Howard Shore.