The Associated Press

Christy Lemire

"Director David Cronenberg ratchets up the tension. Holds you in an increasingly tight grip! Breathtakingly human."

Entertainment Weekly

Owen Gleiberman

"Seductive. Unpeels like an onion, with double crosses and deceptions."

People

Leah Rozen

"Critic's choice! An affecting and multilayered crime drama from maverick director David Cronenberg."

Ebert & Roeper

"Full of tremendous performances. (2) The fight scene with Viggo Mortensen in the steam bath … is like nothing you've seen before." (1)

Premiere

Glenn Kenny

"4 stars! One of the highlights of the year!"

Rolling Stone

Peter Travers

"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."

Time

Richard Corliss

"Director David Cronenberg provides thrills galore. Excellent. A taut film."

Us Weekly

Thelma Adams

"A shocking, satisfying thriller!"

USA Today

Claudia Puig

"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."

LA Daily News

Glenn Whipp

"Eastern Promises sports its share of twists and turns. Viggo Mortensen gives yet another fantastic performance."

Los Angeles Times

Carina Chocano

"Expertly realized."

Newsday

Jan Stuart

"4 stars! A mesmerizing new thriller! Viggo Mortensen dares you to take your eyes off of him."

New York Post

Lou Lumenick

"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."

The New York Times

A. O. Scott

"…likely to stay in your head for a long time."

The Village Voice

J. Hoberman

"Masterful! David Cronenberg is the most provocative, original, and consistently excellent North American director of his generation."

The Wall Street Journal

Joe Morgenstern

"A marvelous film! Viggo Mortensen's performance is flat-out brilliant. And the supporting cast's work amounts to a festival of fine acting."

The Boston Globe

Ty Burr

"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."

Boston Herald

James Verniere

"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."

Chicago Sun-Times

Roger Ebert

"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."

Chicago Tribune

Michael Phillips

"An unusually strong crime thriller. Naomi Watts is excellent."

Dallas Morning News

Chris Vognar

"David Cronenberg creates a feeling of controlled fury that might explode at any moment!"

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Carrie Rickey

"Godfather-like tension. Viggo Mortensen delivers yet another startling performance, stunning in its intensity."

San Francisco Chronicle

Mike LaSalle

"Thoroughly entertaining."

The Examiner

Janos Gereben

"4 stars! Certain to become a classic! 'Eastern Promises' will take your breath away."

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Sean Axmaker

"A rare kind of mystery! Reverberates long after it ends."

The Seattle Times

Moira MacDonald

"A masterful thriller! Exhilirating. Viggo Mortensen gives a remarkable performance."

Washington Post

Desson Thomson

"A murder mystery thriller meets Russian 'Godfather.' Genre-busting."

NY Daily News

Jack Mathews

"The season's first must-see film for adults!" Viggo Mortensen gives an amazing performance."