DeNiro and Scorsese, Ford and Spielberg/Lucas, Russell and Carpenter... these are all great unforgettable director/actor teams. After "History Of Violence" and now "Eastern Promises," it's safe to say that Mortensen and Cronenberg belong on that list.

After coming into contact with a journal from a deceased young girl, Anna becomes caught up in the world of the Russian Mafia. What relationship did the young girl have with Mob Boss Semyon? What secret does mafia member Nikolai hold? Watch to find out. I'll be honest, "Eastern Promises" is not for everyone. The violence is shockingly brutal, the conclusion is abrupt, and the story slowly develops. However, if you are a patient, David Cronenberg-loving, non-squeamish viewer, you will be greatly rewarded. Besides the Oscar worthy performance by Viggo Mortensen as the mysterious gangster Nikolai, "Eastern Promises" succeeds primarily because of the story. Unlike most gangster pictures, this is not an action packed film (except for the one-of-a-kind nude knife fight scene). Instead, "Promises" keeps viewers glued to the screen with several mysteries that slowly unravel. Obviously, I'd like to go into more detail, but I can't without spoiling the end. Besides, If you've read this far, you pretty much know that you need to go out and rent or buy this film.

The 1.85:1 widescreen picture quality is at least ten times better than the print I saw in theaters. Virtually all of the grain has been eliminated. Thank you Universal! The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 tracks are solid. "Eastern Promises" is mostly quiet, thus the audio tracks don't really come to life.

* Web-enabled features * "Secrets And Stories" (10 mins.) talks about Russian mobster history and how the story was based in reality. * "Marked For Life" is a 6 minute featurette discussing the significance of tattoos. Fun fact: Viggo's research helped make the tattoos a crucial part of the script.

"Eastern Promises" is one of the 10 best films of 2007. Nuff' said.