CANADA: Viggo Mortensen, David Cronenberg and Vincent Cassel talk about their Russian mob thriller "Eastern Promises"

Directed by Canadian David Cronenberg, the Russian mob thriller "Eastern Promises" took home the top prize at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film won the festival's Cadillac People's Choice Award, which is voted on by moviegoers. As the festival has been used as a launching pad to gain Oscar buzz for films, the award is often looked at as a good indicator of who may lead the pack during the next award season. Actor Viggo Mortensen stars as a Russian gangster and driver for a prominent mob family, opposite Australian beauty Naomi Watts. The actor speaks convincing Russian-accented English, which he worked very hard to perfect. Mortensen spent several weeks in Russia, nailing down slang and learning about Russian mores and nuances. "I didn't really need to go to Russia I suppose but going there for a couple of weeks and disappearing into the country it helped me a lot. Unspoken things, just the way people look at each other and the way they deal with problems and how they are when they're riding the subway." The film was already in production when former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died after being poisoned by a dose of radioactive polonium-210 in November 2006. Mortensen says that the spy's death affected people in London and made them more aware of Russian criminal activity in the city. He became more aware of his movie tattoos, which are the marks of criminals who have spent time in Russian jails. He notes that the "Eastern Promises" set also felt tensions after the incident. "Eastern Promises" is the second film Mortensen has made with David Cronenberg, best known for his Oscar nominated "History of Violence." Cronenberg says he was drawn to the film's exploration of the Eastern European experience in London. "I found that fascinating, that sort of Eastern European subculture that is the setting for this movie. You have the Chechens and Russians and Azerbaijanis and Georgians and Turks all living together but in an uneasy alliance because they bring with them hostilities and enmities from their old countries and bring them to their new country and yet they have to collaborate together to do their criminal business. It's very intriguing and full of texture and interesting detail. The film also stars Vincent Cassel, who says he jumped at the chance to work with Cronenberg. "Eastern Promises" opens in theaters in North America on September 21st.

ITN Source | September 20, 2007

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