"Director David Cronenberg ratchets up the tension. Holds you in an increasingly tight grip! Breathtakingly human."
"Seductive. Unpeels like an onion, with double crosses and deceptions."
"Critic's choice! An affecting and multilayered crime drama from maverick director David Cronenberg."
"Full of tremendous performances. (2) The fight scene with Viggo Mortensen in the steam bath … is like nothing you've seen before." (1)
"4 stars! One of the highlights of the year!"
"A mesmerizing power-punch thriller! Director David Cronenberg is a visionary! The bathhouse fight is a showstopper! 'Eastern Promises' is Viggo Mortensen's tour de force. Naomi Watts is extraordinary."
"Director David Cronenberg provides thrills galore. Excellent. A taut film."
"A shocking, satisfying thriller!"
"Mesmerizing! If you are drawn to taut thrillers with fascinating characters portrayed skillfully, 'Eastern Promises' is just the ticket! Provocative and engrossing with an intriguing twist. Gripping."
"Eastern Promises sports its share of twists and turns. Viggo Mortensen gives yet another fantastic performance."
"Expertly realized."
"4 stars! A mesmerizing new thriller! Viggo Mortensen dares you to take your eyes off of him."
"The suspense builds to almost unbearable levels! This is Viggo Mortensen's best and richest performance. Director David Cronenberg subverts genre expectations with every plot twist."
"…likely to stay in your head for a long time."
"Masterful! David Cronenberg is the most provocative, original, and consistently excellent North American director of his generation."
"A marvelous film! Viggo Mortensen's performance is flat-out brilliant. And the supporting cast's work amounts to a festival of fine acting."
"Viggo Mortenson burns a hole in the screen. A performance of almost unbearable tension. The fight scene, set in a Russian steambath, is an instant movie classic."
"Grade A! Spellbinding! Viggo Mortensen triumphs. To the short list of directors who have made the greatest gangster films of our time, Francis Coppola (The Godfather) and Martin Scorsese (GoodFellas), we can now add David Cronenberg."
"4 stars. Extraordinary. At a time when movie 'fight scenes' are as routine as the dances in musicals, Viggo Mortensen engages in a fight in this film that sets the same kind of standard that The French Connection set for chases. Years from now, it will be referred to as a benchmark."
"An unusually strong crime thriller. Naomi Watts is excellent."
"David Cronenberg creates a feeling of controlled fury that might explode at any moment!"
"Godfather-like tension. Viggo Mortensen delivers yet another startling performance, stunning in its intensity."
"Thoroughly entertaining."
"4 stars! Certain to become a classic! 'Eastern Promises' will take your breath away."
"A rare kind of mystery! Reverberates long after it ends."
"A masterful thriller! Exhilirating. Viggo Mortensen gives a remarkable performance."
"A murder mystery thriller meets Russian 'Godfather.' Genre-busting."
"The season's first must-see film for adults!" Viggo Mortensen gives an amazing performance."