Eastern Promises

See it.

It's on Cinemax right now, which means if you have 'On Demand' you can see it for free whenever you want.

It's very good.

You probably know by now that Viggo Mortensen was nominated for Best Actor for his role as a Russian limo driver involved in the London Russian mafia. You may not know much more, other than Naomi Watts is in the film. Mortensen is excellent, but his work is not the only reason to see the film.

These days, most crime and mafia films glamorize crime excessively. This is something I've complained about before, even though I like films like "Ocean's Eleven".

Somebody needs to show crime in the proper light. "Eastern Promises" does a great job with that. Where films like "The Godfather" and any Scorcese film tend to present the mafia as flawed, but amusing and somewhat honorable, a more honest film like "Eastern Promises" doesn't waste time with that kind of glorification. Crime is simply sad, and organized crime is sadder still, since it does so much damage.

As for Naomi Watts, she'll be featured in my "best actresses of my generation" series, whenever I get it started.