Eastern Promises

When a Russian teenager dies in a London hospital, leaving behind a newborn baby and a secret-filled diary, it leads Anna, a wellmeaning midwife, to the doorstep of a notorious Russian mafia family. Possessing evidence that could incriminate the family’s powerful patriarch, Anna attracts the attention of Nikolai, the family’s fearsome driver and bodyguard. Propelled by a menacing central performance from a tattoo-emblazoned Mortensen, and boasting a cameo from celebrated Polish auteur Jerzy Skolimowski, Cronenberg and British screenwriter Steven Knight – creator of Peaky Blinders – paint a desperate portrait of migrant life in the British capital, where family and loyalty are the only currencies of value.

Academy Awards: Best Actor nomination