Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel

Set in London, Eastern Promises tells the grim tale of the Russian mafia and their business here. Starring Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings), the film focuses on the vory v zakone gang that operates in Russia.

We are introduced to Tatiana, a young girl that dies in hospital after giving birth to a baby girl. All she has with her is a diary, which the midwife Anna (Naomi Watts), wants to get translated so that she can try and find out what family the girl has to send the baby onto. Finding a business card within the diary, Anna is introduced to the vory v zakone and their ways. Realising that there is more to the tale than meets the eye, Anna pursues having Tatianas diary translated, which could lead to disastrous consequences for the Russians if they don’t find a way to get the diary back first.

Dissimilar to the average gangster movie, Eastern Promises is a dark and gritty story telling the sad tale of betrayal and family honor that crime families like these hold.