Eastern Promises

Nurse Anna finds a Russian-language diary among the belongings of a young woman who died giving birth and learns that she was part of a human trafficking ring. Searching for her family, Anna delves into London's underworld… Tattoos tell life stories, and scarred bodies become vehicles of identity and control, while the film maintains a cool, detached tone. A dark tension develops between loyalty and betrayal, in which Mueller-Stahl exudes the power that, under these circumstances, decides over life and death. Since its spiritual predecessor is being screened as part of our Classic Line, one could also say: an even darker "history of violence."
(Florian Widegger)