For many, many years David Cronenberg has been hailed as a master filmmaker, an auteur if you will. And finally, after perfecting what he started with in 'A History of Violence', he is actually worthy of such a title.

An exploration into the dark streets of London controlled by the Russian Mafia, who will stop at nothing to build their empire and sate their lusts, 'Eastern Promises' is a story of revenge, cruelty and sacrifice.

Anna (Naomi Watts) is an idealistic midwife, trying to find the family of a 14-year-old Ukranian who died in childbirth. Her search leads her to into the horrific and sordid world of drugs, prostitution and death, controlled by mafia boss Semyon and his unstable son Kirill. Both ruthless and powerful, their moods are only tempered by Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), the family's driver who also functions as their hitman and cleaner.

It's a disturbing story, beautifully told with Cronenberg exercising a restraint for which he is not usually known. This is no hyper-sexualised aggressive tale of women bearing anal orifices under their arms or fetish car crashes. It's disciplined, controlled, well told and frankly, the film that Cronenberg should have been striving for his entire life. His mental masturbation seems to finally be over.

Extras

While 'Eastern Promises' is certainly worth adding to your DVD collection on its own merit, the extras might leave you a little cold. There are only two of them: a documentary on how Cronenberg brought his screenplay to life and a look at the Russian tattoos that feature so prominently during the movie. Both are interesting enough to watch, but chances are, you'll only do that once — unlike the film itself.