tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post2666796897220938823..comments2023-11-28T15:20:59.369-05:00Comments on Cinema Viewfinder: Cronenberg Blogathon: Eastern Promises (2007)Tony Dayoubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04632329277519635858noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-47290761399585098122010-09-11T18:30:53.690-04:002010-09-11T18:30:53.690-04:00Thanks for the comment, Adam. I agree that EP skir...Thanks for the comment, Adam. I agree that EP skirts melodrama at the end, but even in the make-out there's some cold tragedy to it. For one fleeting second, Nikolai seemed to remember who he really was and kissed Anna just to have a fleeting moment of normalcy before he had to go deeper than ever before. I think approaching it from that perspective makes the film even darker: by the end, he's put a horrible man behind bars, but really, his mission is just beginning.<br /><br />And I completely agree about Mueller-Stahl and his character. You expect Nikolai to be a cop by a certain point, and you also expect Semyon to be a cruel mob lord. But to discover that he's still so..."hands-on" is stunning and stomach-churning. There's no romanticizing at all here, and not even Scorsese and De Palma's method of at least enticing us before the fall. It's all vile, all repulsive and anyone who thinks that it's cool is as unevolved as these feudal-minded misogynistic closet cases.<br /><br />And thanks for the kind words, to you and to Tony. You both really are too kind.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8871549895931317151.post-29511321855209261632010-09-11T18:11:44.355-04:002010-09-11T18:11:44.355-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.com