'People come to a movie to live another life'

That's something David Cronenberg just said in a Fresh Air podcast I'm listening to, and it's part of what I liked so much yesterday about "Eastern Promises," his new movie.

Michelle seemed surprised that I gave it four gliomas, and I know that it won't be for everyone (Mom, you wouldn't like it; too violent and dark), but I think this is an excellent film on several fronts and will hold up well. It's a great genre movie, in a couple of genres: a classic film noir and a classic gangster flick -- I kept thinking of "The Godfather."

It's full of unsavory characters -- except for Naomi Watts; she's somewhat savory. And I suppose some of our readers might find Viggo Mortensen savory, if you like the super-fit, naked, heavily tattooed killing machine-with-a-heart-of-gold thing.

But mostly, it was the story that I found so compelling. As Cronenberg says, this film pulls you completely into another life, in this case the world of badass Russian mobsters living in London. The story is constructed so tightly and moves so quickly that I was afraid of missing something. I stayed put even though I was desperate to sneak off to the restroom, seeing the movie as I did after a big lunch, coffee and a giant coke to go with my giant popcorn.

Mortensen, who was so good in Cronenberg's last movie, "A History of Violence" (one of my favorites), learned Russian and Ukrainian for this part and is terrific again.

Anyway, highly recommended. You can check the NYT review here, the Fresh Air podcast here, and a good Salon review and interview here.

Finally, the trailer: