Eastern Promises gives us a glimpse into Russian organized crime in London and what happens when an innocent person gets wrapped up in its seedy existence. Amazing visuals and beautiful acting make Eastern Promises worth seeing.

Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts) is a midwife in the maternity ward in a London hospital. A Russian woman who speaks no English is brought into the hospital and delivers her baby before dying. Anna makes it her personal mission to find the family of the child, no matter where it takes her. Her first and only clue to the mother's identity is her diary, written in Russian. Anna first brings the diary to her uncle, who is so disgusted by the content, he refuses to translate the contents for her. Discouraged but not giving up, she brings the restaurant to a local Russian restaurant. Semyon, the owner, agrees to translate the diary for her. Anna doesn't know that he is the head of the local Russian mob. When she leaves the restaurant she meets Nikolai Luzhin (Viggo Mortensen), the cleaner for the mob. When they realize what is in the diary, Anna, her uncle, her aunt and the baby aren't safe.

Eastern Promises is to the eyes what crème brule is to the tongue; smooth, sophisticated, and delicious. The cinematographer Peter Suschitzky and director David Cronenberg jumped head first into a modern film noir style that grabs the audience by the eyes and doesn't let go.