This does not translate to 'hello' in English.
If there is one thing I love in this world, it's an immigrant story done well. I think many people would agree with me (I'm looking at you, entire human population who love The Godfather). Anyways, with one solid film review behind me, I thought I'd veer off course a little and dedicate a two part instalment to a couple of my favourite immigrant story films. I won't pretend objectivity; I adore both of these movies with an unreasonable amount of emotion. The first of which is Eastern Promises. Ah!
A quick summary: After a pregnant Russian girl dies while giving birth, maternity nurse Anna Ivanovna (Naomi Watts) tries to contact the girl's family. A business card in the girl's diary leads her to the Trans-Siberian restaurant, a front operated by the Vory v Zakone (the Russian mafia).
Enough summary. If you haven't seen the film, run to wherever you get films and get it at once (et a moy prikas!*). If you have seen it, let's take a moment to appreciate the font of the title credits. This is a small detail, but the vaguely cyrllic looking font perfectly roped me into the world of Semyon (Armin Mueller - Stahl), Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), and Kiril (Vincent Cassel). Its a place that's immediately recognizable, where 'the old world' lives shoulder to shoulder with 'the new world.'
The reason Eastern Promises seems to succeed in so many ways, is because it is so specific. In his depiction of Russian immigrants and Londoners, Cronenberg attaches us to characters, not archetypes or stereotypes. This is largely because of the acting (do I even have to say it? There is no chink in this wall; everyone is solid if not outstanding), but also because of the set design. Each place looked like people actually inhabited it. I felt like I knew something about each character from their surroundings, which seems obvious enough. But sets aren't just used to establish exposition in this film. They are revelatory.
Everything in Anna and her mother's home tells of how place influences them. The floral wall paper and cozy furniture seem specifically English when compared to the rich opulence of the Trans- Siberian restaurant, where Semyon and his son Kirill live. One of the best sequences of the film is when Cronenberg uses three quick panning shots to show a decadent Russian Christmas feast. I mean, step aside Julie and Julia, Eastern Promises is a stellar food movie.
Soviet Opulence. Is there any other kind?
Cronenberg masterfully uses food to show how both worlds collide. In Anna's home, her uncle Stepan's bottle of vodka and distinctive Russian glasses are the only hints of Russia amidst the floral place mats and green peas. In turn, Semyon manages to win Anna's trust by feeding her borscht, "like her papa used to make." Food shows not only where you come from, but who you are.
It is no coincidence that the one scene where Kirill tries to engage his father in a conversation,as an equal, occurs when Kirill is roasting a chicken. Up until that point, Semyon was always the one in the kitchen, decorating a cake, or cooking borscht, while Kirill waltzed in drunk. Semyon's relationship to food is that of creator and provider, while Kirill is the lazy consumer, who lives off his father's good will.
The relationship between Kirill and Nikkolai is also tellingly established in one of these instances. When Kirill and Nikolai barge into Semyon's kitchen while he is decorating cakes , Kirill grabs some marzipan fruit while yelling at his father. After his father embarrasses him he throws a cherry piece on the table and storms out of the kitchen. Nikolai pointedly picks up the cherry and places it back in the bowl. This one act hammers home Nikolai's role as the man who cleans up Kirill's messes and rights his wrongs.
But enough about food, Cronenberg's specificity isn't limited to set design alone. The racist barbs of Uncle Stepan - "it is unnatural to mix race and race. That is why your baby died inside of you" and the little missed communications - Kirill: The coast is clear. No, not the beach. The coast. It's an English expression you fucking idiot! - firmly ground this film in reality. I easily believe that these characters would talk like this.
And of course, there's the famous bath house scene, where Viggo naked wrestles two assassins. This has to be the most primal action sequence I have ever watched (and I've watched Face/Off. Yeah.) I've seen this movie about four times, and on the fourth time I was still hands over eyes at the eye-stabbing part. It is one of the few times in a film where I've actually felt like someone was fighting for their life.
A History of Violence was Cronenberg's previous film.
Which leads to the performances, specifically that of Viggo (first name basis, what of it). I know I previously said that this cast was flawless, but it merits repetition. Viggo is unbelievable in this role. I can't speak Russian and am not intimately familiar with Russian accents, but this sounded like the real thing. He also had facial expressions that seemed so authentic to the character of Nikkolai. That sly smile and terrifying laugh and misaligned mouth were those few details that made me believe Nikkolai could be leaning on a sleek black car on any street of London.
Nothing says Russian bad ass quite like a cigarette between the lips.
In the same way, reams of superlatives can accurately be attached to Vincent Cassel's performance. Cassel gets overlooked so much, and he does not deserve to, especially not here. He had one line that completely broke my heart. After Semyon rejects him by telling him to go to the basement and get bottles of brandy while he and Nikkolai talk business, Kirill starts drinking. When Nikkolai finds him, Kirill tells Nikolai "don't feel bad about what happened up there." There is no reason for Nikkolai to feel bad. It is obvious Kirill is the one who feels bad, but he cannot bring himself to say it. It's a simple sentence that reveals how childish Kirill is ,and yet how deeply he feels his father's rejection.
A Little phallic, I will admit.
Cassel plays him perfectly. Just when you begin to feel like there's something worthwhile in Kiril, he does something blood chillingly cold. The perfect example of this happens at the end of the movie. Minutes after contemplating drowning a baby, Kirill's attention is diverted to a new year's eve party. Cassel's performance never errs on the side of pity. By the end of the film, my feelings for Kirill were mixed. I couldn't decide whether he was a goodie or a baddie, which of course means that Cassel is nothing but a goodie in this role.
*Vincent Cassell's character shouts this at Viggo Mortensen's character through the film. It means "that's an order!" One of the things you'll pick up from watching Eastern Promises: fluent Russian.
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