As I suspected it might be, Eastern Promises is much better the second time. Not only do you get to watch the whole thing knowing “the twist” (although Ann, hats off to her, guessed it about thirty minutes in, whereas I was full-on surprised in those last ten minutes the first go-round) but there is a lot of subtle stuff that flew right past me the first time. I’m guessing that’s because I was just so taken in by the detail of the world and the performances. But how’s this: maybe Kirill is actually gay and in love with Nikolai? There is a lot of circumstantial evidence to support this.
Also: notice there are slightly distorting uses of short lenses in the close-ups of Naomi Watts, but not so much on the other characters. What’s up with that?
I’m thinkin’ this movie is in the process of being robbed this awards season.
