Eastern Promises: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
From AwardAnnals
 | |
| Artist(s) | Howard Shore |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| Label | Sony Classics |
| Honors | |
| This soundtrack marks composer Howard Shore’s 12th collaboration with director David Cronenberg, and it’s safe to say the two men have an almost symbiotic relationship at this point. Like its immediate predecessor, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises is a crime drama; this time around, however, it is set not in a very American town but among Russian gangsters in London. Shore evokes the milieu by incorporating “slavic” touches from a cimbalom (a type of hammered dulcimer), a balalaika (a triangular stringed instrument), and a tárogatóto (a woodwind) in his orchestrations, but thankfully he doesn’t overdo it and turn the score into cheesy folklore. This is a taut, somber CD, where the main themes are performed by a solo violin (check out in particular “Nine Elms”). | |
Reviews
Amazon.com
This soundtrack marks composer Howard Shore’s 12th collaboration with director David Cronenberg, and it’s safe to say the two men have an almost symbiotic relationship at this point. Like its immediate predecessor, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises is a crime drama; this time around, however, it is set not in a very American town but among Russian gangsters in London. Shore evokes the milieu by incorporating “slavic” touches from a cimbalom (a type of hammered dulcimer), a balalaika (a triangular stringed instrument), and a tárogatóto (a woodwind) in his orchestrations, but thankfully he doesn’t overdo it and turn the score into cheesy folklore. This is a taut, somber CD, where the main themes are performed by a solo violin (check out in particular “Nine Elms”). But the most arresting track may well be the slow, majestic “Slavery and Suffering”, a traditional revolutionary song performed by the Red Army Choir. —Elisabeth Vincentelli
Related works
Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, mystery and deception in the explosive film critics are calling “provocative and engrossing” (Claudia Puig, USA Today).
