Movie Review - "Eastern Promises"

Went to see "Eastern Promises" last nite at the Ritz 5. It was packed for a 8:40pm show. I mean there was not even an inch of elbow room and elbow room is important people! Not sure why so many people showed up. Usually the crowd is pretty thin for indie flicks. Well, I guess people had heard that this was made by the same guys who made "A History of Violence" and "Dirty Pretty Things".

Ok, the review now:

Good things:
-Vigo Mortensen was very good in his role as a driver for the Russian mob in London. He had the accent down and his acting style suited the role.
-Armin Stahl (the mob leader) I thought stole the show. He looks pretty harmless in appearance and speech in the movie and I guess that brings out the contrast in his reputation as a ruthless savage in the movie.
-The movie showed the Russian mob world at its ruthless worst. You gotto turn your eyes away if you can't watch throats being slit and fingers being cut and eyes being gouged. It was not easy to watch but the brutality was presented as if it would be in real life. There were quite a few people squirming and oh-ahhing in the movie multiple times.
-References to London and how it affects people in negative ways was well potrayed.
-Ending.

Not so good things:
-The plot was not too strong.
-Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassell were both under-utilized in their roles.
-Too much focus on Vigo's role. The whole seemed to be about him.
-The voilence and sex scenes were a bit too graphic for my taste.

Overall:
Watchable. I thought "Dirty Pretty Things" was much better than this.