Call me jaded but I didn't think Eastern Promises was hittin on jacks***. Just when it got interesting, it went flat. Maybe I was expecting too much. Stylistically- I was expecting more- it was fine. But just to compare, I whipped out Collateral by Micheal Mann. This movie has a dumb premise but it is a beautiful thing to watch. Color saturation and definition are top shelf. Speaking of MM, a nice touch he used in Miami Vice (dismal) was when the FBI informants were shot in the beginning, rather than having the bullets penetrating the windshield and the little blood things exploding in the actors' shirts, the camera was in the back seat where the seat backs were being blown out by thru and thrus. The terror was more effective on me than the former would have been. I admire directors that leave something to the imagination. Going back to the director of EP, somebody needs to tell me why critics think the director, David Croneberg, is so cool. Last year's History of Violence was more of the same, an old story with new wrappings and Crash (before the studios became interested in this cat) was a movie for the hipper than thou and, sure nuff, became a cult hit. Predictable, in my opinion. For drama, The Coen Bros are in a class by themselves. Pardon the rant.