Notes: I am so deranged for this man right now... anyway probably occ, typos because I am a busy gal who doesn't proofread, mention of blood, softness, and probably some canon divergence . Also I am not even going to try and use Russian words for this so just imagine any terms of endearment that are italicized are in Russian lmao
Moonlight filters into the room and casts a soft hazy glow across Nikolai's bruised face as a cigarette dangles from his lips. His hands find themselves tangled in your hair, as you gently rest your head on his chest. The delicate manner in which your fingertips trace the ink that decorates his skin makes him shudder. It's foreign to him, after so long you forget what it is like to be loved. His life is not his own, yet it feels all too real. His scars and tattoos are palpable, but the lies they tell deceive him.
Your soft voice interrupts his thoughts, "What's wrong?"
Nikolai looks down to be greeted by your half lidded eyes and a sleepy smile. He sets his cigarette down on the ashtray sitting on the nightstand with a small smile, "Nothing. Go to sleep dear." His gruff voice is like a lullaby to your ears, familiar, warm, and feels like home.
Your head lifts from his chest and your full body sits in front of him. "Nikolai-" you gently coo.
Before you can finish the question he shifts his body and opens his arms in a silent question. You happily indulge him, wriggling your way into his arms to gently rest your forehead against his. It's pointless to push him even more, so you resign to indulge him.
He wanted to answer you, but he couldn't find the words. In the back of his mind, he wonders what you truly think of him. You know of his work, what it entails, and the fictional nature of his whole facade. But truth and lies often fade into each other and form a murky pool that's easy to drown in. He wonders if you truly believe his words as he bares his scared and tattoo skin that screams the opposite. A constant reminder that tomorrow is not promised, it's a wish that crosses his mind every time he sees a star. He wonders if the blood on his knuckles make any difference.
There are times he knows you believe him, late nights when your limbs are tangled together and the only sounds are your soft snores. Or when you gently trace his scars and tattoos asking what they mean. Or like last month when you shoved your face into his chest after you shyly told him I love you in his native tongue. To him, it's tangible evidence you believe his word. If you didn't trust him, you wouldn't love him.
He knows that if he asked if you truly loved him, it would break your heart into a million pieces. Hot tears would run down your cheeks and he would look away because he can’t bear to see your cry. The first time you cried in front of him it felt like he was having a heart attack. His chest was tight and constricted, it ached to see you smile again, it ached to hold you in his arms and cage you in so nothing could hurt you. He yearns to protect you, he knows he has too.
Your devotion can be heard in every word uttered in his ear, every hug, kiss, and night spent awake waiting for him to walk through the door bleeding out. He knows that everytime he walks through that door, there is someone worth living for.
The sound of your soft snores break him from his thoughts. Gentle inhales and exhales grace his ears and he swears that you said his name. Before he can fight himself even more, he lays back down with you cradled in his arms, for now, its heaven and always will be.
“Damn!给我你的枪…给我你的子弹…give me a good fuck,Alyosha…”他揪着他的领子动作粗鲁地把他拉起来,扯开他的裤扣和拉链,西装布料吸了太多的水,不那么好脱。Alec把Nikolai掼到墙上,锁在他怀抱形成的牢笼间狠狠的吻他,松开以后Nikolai转过去把背留给他,从十五岁到现在,无论他的生命经历任何一种境况,他的身体暂时地服务于哪一个组织或者国家,呆在哪一个全是杂种的监狱,被迫在他人面前不着一丝地亵渎哪一个女人,站在哪一群人面前说自己没有父母也没有家,他都像一个固执的树桩,嘴可以撒谎,但心却没有那么容易改变——他仅把自己的背这么毫无保留的给过一个人。
All our ships (minus findaryen) featuring Anathema's Untouchable Part. 1. We've been on board for so long, captain! Love you with all my heart, my dearest. ♥
⸻ mads mikkelsen, 58, cis male, he/him ; ] welcome to the bastion, KRISTIAN ADAMSEN. we’ve had a problem with our system, please help me readjust your files. it says here you are FOURTY EIGHT and have been around london for FIVE YEARS, correct? yes, i’ve read an article about you - they said you can be PATIENT and CYNICAL, is that true? no matter, i’m sure your position as a ASSASSIN (LEFT SIDE ASSOCIATE) will conceal all of that. all done now. i hope to be seeing more of your SELF-OBSCURING PATINA OF BROKEN MACHINES CRUSTED INTO COMPLICATED HUSKS, THE DIFFICULTY OF SAYING-DECLARING ‘I’, KNEES HUMBLED BY THE BOLES AND THE RHIZOMATIC SEAMS OF EVERYTHING EVER KNOWN in the future. enjoy your stay, and remember the rules.
TW: brief mentions and descriptions of suicidality, depersonalization, PTSD.
OVERVIEW
— BASICS
BIRTH NAME: Kristian Adamsen
ALIASES: History of multiple aliases/identities over the years
NICKNAMES: peepaw (kidding, n/a for now)
GENDER: Cis male (he/him)
SEXUALITY: heterosexual
AGE / D.O.B: fourty eight / November 22nd
NATIONALITY: Danish
HOMETOWN: Østerbro, Copenhagen, Denmark
OCCUPATION / AFFILIATION: Assassin / Left Side
INSPIRATIONS: Jef Costello (Le Samourai), Nikolai Luzhin (Eastern Promises), William Tell (The Card Counter), Alejandro Gillick (Sicario), Murakawa (Sonatine), Kishibe (Chainsaw Man), Neil McCauley (Heat)
— INTERPERSONAL
STATUS: Single. Never married, was briefly engaged in his early thirties, a fleeting moment in his life he describes as 'not sad, just necessary'. Any current long-standing intimate relationships are usually mutually transactional in nature.
LANGUAGES: English, Danish, Russian, German, conversational French
— MISC
playlist
pinterest
APPEARANCE
FEATURES: The weathered touch of the years sands the edges of his face; chiseling the structure, drawing up the zygomatic crests of his cheekbones to prominent arcs. The length of his hair's a little past his nape, greying mostly at the bangs and temples, gradually diluting once dark brown strands into a mousy-silver-blonde tinge; usually swept back, neatly coiffed without particular – though passably neat – effort. Typically sports a light stubble. A wide and firmly shaped mouth, bow-like, stern and unsmiling, drawn into a taut, neutral line. Hooded, deep-set, heavily lidded as to seem almost languidly indifferent, dark hazel eyes. Bears an inscrutable, watchful gaze, polished by a certain knowingness, tempered by an apathy towards some unspoken and foregone conclusion, and darkened by a perennial weariness.
BODY: Six foot tall, and fit. Broad chest and shoulders. Emanates a sense of disciplined, purposeful strength, not muscularity for the sake of aesthetics. Much of the emphasis of musculature is in the arms, shoulders, and back. Large calloused hands and thick, deft fingers.
SCARS: Many, mostly speckled on the torso and arms. Some old scars overlap older ones like a scattered and disconnected latticework patterning past pains. The most prominent is a long, jaggedly slanted, hypertrophic scarring from a knife just above where his left kidney would be.
CLOTHES: Comfortable, utilitarian and impersonal. An ensemble of black and greys, sometimes a combination of dull, earthy, cool tones. Nondescript, adequately well dressed at a glance. Plain, never bearing brand logos or insignias, the clothes bear a neat, yet well-worn severity. Courtesy of tailors at The Bastion's atelier, they're constructed with a practical craftsmanship instructed by sensible taste, and an eye for silhouettes taking his considerations for functionality without being garishly uptight or showy. He dresses with the sartorial habit of a man that defines his own uniform, bearing authority only to himself and no one else. Never accessorizes, with the exception of a vintage steel Chopard watch.
DEMEANOR: An air of disciplined dispassion, sustained by the undercurrent of a calmly reasoned belligerence – sometimes teething on leashed contempt – that might’ve hinted towards the disposition of a man who was much angrier in the past. Or perhaps still is. Impassively imposing, alert posture, sharply aware of himself and his surroundings. Restrained and unflinching; someone who moves with a poise honed from years of deliberate self-instruction, ready to bear down on someone or something.
SCENT: Perpetual redolence of cigarettes, hints of alcohol, and the cool, clean astringent whiffs of aftershave. Sometimes wears a cologne; the notes a blend of warm, and dry, pleasantly unintrusive aroma of musk, leather, cardamom, vetiver, and cedarwood.
VOICE: Faint, indiscernibly Northern European accent– indistinct enough for an untrained ear to place him anywhere. Low, husky, rasped from a lifetime's habit of chain-smoking. Never brashly grating or harshly gruff, more like an occasional half-bark. Grounded by a gravelly tone underfoot words spoken in a measured cadence, and perhaps…exhaustion.
PERSONALITY
— BASICS
MBTI: INTJ-A (The Architect)
ZODIAC: Scorpio
ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil
TEMPERAMENT: Choleric-Melancholic
HABITS: A chain-smoker, and an inveterate alcoholic with an impressive tolerance that might, perhaps, inspire concerns for his renal health. An occasional, intentional sybaritic when the truth of his habits as little else but purposeless spasms of an atrophied desire can't be ignored. Otherwise he tends (prefers, with dignity, he'd like to think) to quietly mope in excess.
TRAITS: Patient, calculating, practical, introspective, reticent, observant, perceptive, thoughtful, resourceful, stubborn, cynical, world-weary, secretly sentimental. Somewhat solemn and capable of sincerity often presented wordlessly or…incomprehensibly. Inwardly unpredictable, operating within a hermetic logic and moral code that manifests as seemingly impulsive behavior to an onlooker; individualistic in tendencies. Self-effacing and wry, slightly (and charmingly) self-deprecating humor. Never too serious of himself to either affirm or deny outward impressions; a calmly assured "I know who I am and what I am" mellow attitude. Resigned, not necessarily a belly upward defeatist, though is inevitably inclined towards a sense of private nihilism. Surprisingly considerate – maybe even kind – when he wants to be.
— PSYCHOLOGY
Deeply compartmentalized, and subconsciously aware of it at a peripheral level. It's more reflexive rather than calculating (though it can be). A contingent pattern of thinking-reactions that intuitively sublimates underlying neuroticism and paranoia, which does manifest in instances of ritualized behavior (ie: repetitive checking). Has conditioned himself for so long that he's become hermetic even to himself.
Apathy and detachment describes his neutral state, which generally tends towards a degree of depressiveness and asociality. Mechanistically functional, and not necessarily or inherently antisocial traits. Outside of his tasks for the Left Side, he's not primarily reasoned or motivated by these attributes.
Experiences depersonalization-derealization symptoms, which are (relatively) manageable, and occurs in intermittent spells. Often has bouts of hyperarousal spurred by undiagnosed PTSD, filtered through a habit of (hyper)vigilance.
Is passively suicidal, which makes him prone to undertaking risky assignments. Ideations are usually vague, noncommittal– a slow and perpetual downward hurtling.
ABILITIES
A trained marksman who (mostly) avoids excessive violence; favored for targets whom their killing is to send a concise message: you're neither tolerated or indispensable. Targets who don't inspire revenge, or the imagination for spectacular ends like a firey car bomb or even the low light of grisly dismemberment. Neither is he intended for those who don't aspire to unknowingly collude in their future cover up accidents; instead they're simply on an constantly expiring itinerary. His delivery, of course, is always acutely efficient.
Ambidextrous; an inborn trait. No preference for either hand – competent with both for any task – mostly uses his right out of habit.
Trained in close quarters combat, his martial arts style is a culminative blend from his military days in the Jægerkorpset (Jaeger Corps). When fighting, he primarily implements Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing techniques (he's somewhere between an out-boxer and a switch-hitter). Altogether a heavy hitter, his approach is designed to quickly incapacitate an opponent.
Though he avoids superfluous violence as a general principal, he's fully capable of brutality. It's characterized by an impersonal, and deliberately informed cruelty of someone who knows exactly who, where, and how to hurt. Ruthlessly methodized. A detachment from 'why' sterilizes this particular facet of his violence from showy, vicious maiming to a clarified, clinical competence.
— WEAPONS
Doesn't have a preferred or 'signature' weapon, only an array of methods. For self-defense, he carries a Gen5 Glock G29 9mm pistol in a shoulder/chest holster, and a small, curved, folding knife carefully tucked away into his jacket.
Employs a rotating ensemble of long-range sniper rifles for his assignments, as he's rarely in direct or close contact, so he prefers them. Selections may vary based on the targets, but otherwise they're chosen with preventative evasion sensibly in mind. Nothing too shiny or recent; they're easier to be traced and singled out, so he'll pick something already ubiquitously circulating in the black market. Keeps nothing. Unsentimentally conscientious to the task.
BACKGROUND
— TEMPORARY SUMMARY
Born yoked into a legacy of politicians and diplomats of some thing or other, in a family reared to be well-blooded as to be unassumingly unquestioned to the rest. Raised under the discerningly cautious, proud eyes of people who are also the surreptitious architects of the world. Those that legitimize the illegitimate. The so called king makers. Acquiescent to the aspirations of his last name, he joins the military shortly after university, and clawed his way into the Jaeger Corps. Was involved in a number of international joint operations before retiring from the Corps sometime in his thirties. It was a brief respite, as he was later recruited as a mercenary under a private American-British security company comfortably flush with government contracts. At fourty-two, he was well past the cut off of what a 'clean break' from that world could be, and more or less gnarled his way to London, to eventually be wrestled into the Left Side.
WANTED PLOTS / CONNECTIONS
To be updated and elaborated on later (along with his background) but for now!:
Acquaintances...friends...tenuous alliances of any variety. Easy to get along with (or at least he's capable of tolerating a lot) despite being tightly wound up inside. Isn't uptight about alliances or loyalties (with some healthy caution exercised ofc).
For some ideas, if your muse was in the military, depending on their age, he may have met/knew them through joint operations. As for law enforcement muses - particularly intelligence agents - may be aware of who he is.
A general note on impressions of his reputation: he's a lowkey kinda guy, and most people wouldn't know anything (aside from assuming he's just another talented grunt) unless they specifically know what to look for.
I still need to deeply think about his whole deal with romance/love/intimacy etc. For now I'll put a tentative 'hmmm idk' for anything definitive like exes etc, so I'd rather sidestep those for now. But! If you think you've got an idea or want to explore something within this area (romance/intimacy in general), feel free to lmk.
UMM...surrogate child(ren) looking for a (reluctant) father figure????
anything and everything you can think of! or see here.
A Fresh Perspective on the Mafia Genre: A Review of "Eastern Promises"
David Cronenberg’s “Eastern Promises” (2007) marks a riveting departure from the traditional mafia narrative, offering a deep dive into the murky waters of London’s Russian mafia with an intensity that only Cronenberg could deliver. Starring Viggo Mortensen as Nikolai Luzhin, a character of enigmatic loyalties and hidden depths, the film explores themes of identity, loyalty, and redemption…
"EASTERN PROMISES" (2007) Review
Many years ago, I had seen for the first time, the crime thriller directed by David Cronenberg called,”A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE”. Viggo Mortensen had starred in the movie, portraying a happily married café owner, whose Good Samaritan actions against two thugs led to his disclosure as a former mob enforcer. Both Cronenberg and Mortensen reunited two years later to collaborate on another crime thriller called, "EASTERN PROMISES".
Based upon a screenplay written by Steve Knight, ”EASTERN PROMISES” began with a gangland murder and the death of a 14 year-old Russian-born prostitute after giving birth to an infant girl. The two incidents would resonate over the lives of a London hospital midwife of Russian descent named Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts), a Russian mob boss and restaurant owner named Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), his wastrel son Krill (Vincent Cassel), and the mob boss’ enigmatic chauffeur, Nikolai Luzhin (Mortensen).
The plot is a little too complex for me to explain in this review. Needless to say that it centered around the mob boss’ attempt to recover the dead prostitute’s diary, which found itself in the hands of the hospital midwife. I would suggest that one find a way to see the movie. It will not disappoint. I know I found it very interesting. Yes, it has violence, but not as much that was found in ”A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE”. But the amount of blood shown in the film – especially in the gangland slaying and the prostitute’s death – seemed to like a metaphor of the story’s theme . . . and the connection between the major characters.
On the surface, ”EASTERN PROMISES” seemed like a typical crime thriller centered around a Russian crime family in London. But the plot – like three of the major characters – turned out to be something quite different than what appears to be on the surface. What seemed like a gang war, turned out to be a lurid family secret that brings down the Russian mobster. As I had earlier pointed out, this theme is also apparent in three of the four major characters:
*Krill – who seemed like a crude and murderous monster on the surface, who proves to be more benign
*Semyon – a talented cook and mob boss, whose grandfatherly demeanor hides a darker and more ruthless personality
*Nikolai – the enigmatic chauffeur, whose practical and cynical nature makes him unsuited to merely be the family’s driver. As in the case of Semyon and Krill, he turns out to be someone very different.
And it is through the eyes of the London midwife, Anna that the audience becomes acquainted with the exotic (at least for American and British eyes) world of Russian émigrés mingled with the violence and degeneracy of the Vory v Zakone (Russian Mafia). Thanks to Cronenberg’s direction, the world of the Vory v Zakone seemed so exotic and something never seen before. In fact, it seemed so insular that the usual British atmosphere of London almost seemed miles away, despite the presence of Scotland Yard. One sequence that came to mind is the hand-to-hand fight between Nikolai and two Chechen assassins seeking revenge for the gangland murder featured in the movie’s opening scene. The sight of a nude Mortensen viciously defending his life against two burly assassins inside a London bathhouse is one that I will never forget. And I suspect that it will become an unforgettable scene in the minds of moviegoers for years to come.
I was also impressed by the performances in the movie. Despite having the least interesting character, Watts managed – with her usual competency – to infuse pathos and spirit into the London midwife. And Mueller-Stahl did an excellent job of portraying a brutal and ruthless man who manages to hide these traits under a veneer of warmth and civility. But I feel that Cassel deserves an Oscar nod for his portrayal of the pathetic Krill, who tries to hide his weaknesses (or what he conceives as weakness) with a crude and extroverted persona.
Finally, there is Viggo Mortensen, whose portrayal of the enigmatic Nikolai might finally allow the critics to truly appreciate his skills as an actor. Instead of using words or openly expressed emotions, Mortensen manages to reveal his character to the audience through subtle words (in a Russian accent that surprisingly works), body language, costume and especially in his eyes. What makes Mortensen so remarkable as a film actor is that he has no need for big speeches (which he had attempted in ”LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING”) or outbursts of emotions to convey to express his characters’ personalities. This certainly seemed true in the scene in which Nikolai has sex with one of the prostitutes, in the whorehouse owned by Krill’s father. Nikolai does not simply have sex with the woman. He IS FORCED to do so . . . on the orders of Krill, who wants Nikolai to prove that he is not a homosexual. The audience was well aware that the prostitute felt violated and exploited. But Mortensen managed to convey through his eyes, Nikolai's feelings of violation, exploitation . . . and disgust at Krill’s desire to watch him have sex with the prostitute. Good performances by Mortensen, Cassel and the actress who portrayed the prostitute.
What else can I say about "EASTERN PROMISES"? I do not regard it as one of the best movies from 2007. But I feel that it is a fascinating and emotionally complex story that seems different from the usual crime thriller. Unlike "A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE", it is not capped by a violence sequence that gives us the last word on the protagonist’s fate. Yet, all the same, I found it very tense and emotional.
shoutout to andrei semyonovich lebezyatnikov being one of the most underappreciated ruslit characters
like... almost no one ever talks about him, neither critics or literature teachers (in our school tho we did discuss lebezyatnikov as "another counterpart of raskolnikov along with luzhin and svidrigailov" but as far as i know he's seldom mentioned and even considered as raskolnikov's counterpart). but he does play a part in the plot??? and is a reflection of social movements and ideas of his time????
to begin with, there was a common trope in russian literature: a character who tries to be "progressive and woke" but is actually not, who is shown as foolish, fake and inconsistent in their beliefs, who criticizes the "rotten society" but actually is a part of it; is often a parody of the protagonist - who is indeed progressive and smart and revolutionary and misunderstood and so on (bonus points if they admire the protagonist and try to copy him)
we can see this trope in griboyedov's play "woe from wit" (repetilov - a parody on chatsky), turgenev's novel "fathers and sons" (sitnikov and kukshina - wannabe nihilists as opposed to bazarov though kukshina is a literal queen she slays), and dostoyevsky's later works - "the idiot" (hippolite terentyev's gang) and "demons" (verkhovensky's circle); maybe grushnitsky from "a hero of our time" can be counted too, he fits all the traits but he's obsessed with byronism not politics and is treated more seriously
when we first see lebezyatnikov in p5c1, it's exactly how he is presented like: silly and pathetic, with unattractive features, described with usage of very strong and borderline offensive language (how do you like "half-animate abortion"?), dramatic and self-righteous to the point he looks ridiculous...
his surname comes from russian word "лебезить" [lebezit] - "to fawn on somebody"
sometimes he has a point but some his takes are harmful (beating a woman with tuberculosis because "he seeks equality in fighting !!!" defending prostitution and saying it is empowerment and protest !!! while not knowing how sonya is suffering); even though he has sincere good intentions
his ideology, like that of many 1860s-70s russian nihilists, is based on the ideas of nikolai chernyshevsky and his novel "what is to be done" (and other utopian socialists) but inverted and satirized
the part where he defends freedom in marriage and "deceptions" ("Your wife will only prove how she respects you by considering you incapable of opposing her happiness and avenging yourself on her for her new husband...if I were to marry, ...I should present my wife with a lover if she had not found one for herself.") is a reference to "what is to be done" and chernyshevsky's own personal life
- in witbd the main heroine tells her husband that she is in love with another man, and her husband pretends to commit suicide so that she would be formally a widow and able to marry her lover
the "it’s an insult to a woman for a man to kiss her hand" line is also a direct reference to witbd
(sorry for the spoilers btw witbd is quite an underaprecciated book if i ever reread it i ought to make a post about it)
- chernyshevsky himself had a complicated relationship with his wife; he worshipped her, always put her interests above himself and let her make all the decisions in their family life, while she saw him only as a friend and a chance to escape from her abusive family; chernyshevsky said that if she liked someone else he'd forgive her and suffer in silence but would always forgive her if she came back
SORRY what is to be DONE WITH CHERNYSHEVSKY LET'S GET BACK TO THE POINT. YEAH LEBEZYATNIKOV
his description is summed up in this line: "one of the numerous and varied legion of dullards who attach themselves to the idea most in fashion only to vulgarise it and who caricature every cause they serve, however sincerely"
but there's one important thing.
he takes a step ahead.
he protects sonya marmeladova!! and accuses luzhin of slandering her, explaining what actually happened and giving proof of luzhin's vileness!! (and later on he also helps sonya and rodion find katerina ivanovna mad and near death from her illness...)
even katerina ivanovna says he was sent by god - for saving sonya's honour.
the one who desires to fight for equality but doesn't know how and only makes a fool of himself in other characters' and author's eyes - he actually protects the weak, silent and oppressed.
no parody sidekick has ever had such a character development, no trying-to-be-progressive character before had a chance to step out of their stereotype and do something good for another person or for the society
this scene makes me so happy, not only because i love seeing someone protecting my beloved sonya but it also has a deeply personal meaning to me
i was also concerned about equality, freedom and perfecting the society and all such things, and ofc had confrontations with others regarding my opinions like all of us probably do, but in the end i always looked stupid, uneducated and worthless as i could never shut up, cried when i lost an argument and did nothing but whine about how things are unfair but never knew what to do to change it
and so i thought: i don't deserve to call myself a profeminist and a liberal, i am not good enough
i wanted to relate to strong-willed, enlightened, revolutionary characters like chatsky and rakhmetov, but i knew that i was a repetilov, a sitnikov, a lebezyatnikov - an useless caricature who is a shame to their ideology
and when i first read the scene where lebezyatnikov protects sonya, it made me genuinely happy to see how somebody who was viewed as an "useless and fake progressist" could also be a help to somebody and become a better person... it made me feel like i'm not worthless too, like im capable of such a character development and maybe even change someone's life for the better too.... ;;;;;
sorry it ended up too long and too personal and whiny in the end ... :c anyway i hope you did enjoy reading this or find something interesting
❆ (( HELLO JAS HELLOOOOOO. ITS ME AGAIN. Meesta Ruki I have a question 🤔
You mentioned recommending Gwen some books since they might share a similar taste in genres with you. SO TELL ME: Which ones would you recommend 👀
and also hello jas i hope you’re doing well 😎 )) ❆
“Just ‘Ruki’ will suffice, but yes, I did admit our tastes in literature may be more similar than I previously anticipated. Since Gwen was reading Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment in the library when I encountered them a second time, I would recommend some other philosophical fictions they might enjoy, such as George Orwell’s 1984 or Nikolai Gogol’s Dead Souls. The latter is more of a satire, but I’m suggesting it since Dostoevsky was heavily influenced by this work in particular. All these texts explore protagonists navigating through a corrupt setting. And, much like Crime and Punishment, they all share an element of darkness and social criticism which I find fascinating to read about.”
“Another recommendation I have would be The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. It’s rather different from the other books I’ve mentioned thus far, but I admire the premise of the story. Basically, the Devil visits the Soviet Union, disguised of course, and during his time there he exposes the hypocrisy and corruption of the elite through—…Well, they’ll have to read it and find out. There are some supernatural elements better left a surprise. Lastly, I’d also like to include some honorable mentions should Gwen have an abundance of time on their hands: Vladimir Nabokov’s The Luzhin Defense, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, and Albert Camus’ The Stranger. I intuit they may gain new perspective from the literature—one worthy of a fruitful discussion.”
(( HELLOOOOO WHIN THANK YOU FOR THE ASK, IT IS ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU!! I’m doing well and I hope you are, too!! After all your posts about Ruki’s route, including how similar he is to Gwen, I really enjoyed answering this ask 🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️🏃♀️ ))
Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg, 2007)
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent Cassel, Sinéad Cusack, Mina E. Mina, Jerzy Skolmowski, Donald Sumpter, Raza Jaffrey. Screenplay: Steven Knight. Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky. Production design: Carol Spier. Film editing: Ronald Sanders. Music: Howard Shore.
The Russian mafia seems to have supplanted the Italian kind in the popular imagining of the violent criminal world. David Cronenberg serves up an impressive and terrifying vision of it in Eastern Promises. Viggo Mortensen gives an intensely compelling, Oscar-nominated performance as Nikolai Luzhin, a Russian undercover agent infiltrating the mob. His celebrated battle in the steam bath, in which he, naked and unarmed, is attacked by two well-clothed thugs carrying linoleum knives should never let you take another two-against-one battle in a James Bond movie seriously. As Semyon, the vor, or mob boss, Armin Mueller-Stahl demonstrates once again that one can smile and smile and be a villain, and Vincent Cassel steals scenes with his portrayal of Semyon's careless, dissipated weakling of a son. Naomi Watts plays Anna, a midwife who gets caught up in the mob's business when a teenage prostitute dies in childbirth and she tries to look after the infant's welfare. My only complaint about Eastern Promises is a rather saccharine ending where Anna and the baby are concerned. The story of Mortensen's character ends inconclusively, with his apparent ascension to the role of boss of the mob, a risky position for an undercover agent, suggesting the possibility of a sequel. In fact, one was proposed but at last report seems to have been abandoned.
I’ve always had a crush on Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn but him as a KGB spy just hits different. His performance in this movie is too damn good. Too bad he didn’t win an Oscar for this and David Cronenberg wasn’t able to fulfill a trilogy for this story. For @streets-in-paradise