Eastern Drift (2010) User Reviews

Nihilism

[Hugh Sullivan · 7/10 · 20 July 2014]

I enjoyed the film, but it also annoyed me. That's not necessarily bad.

Just to clear some things up, the main character is not a young man. He does not look like a young man. He did not act like a young man. He acted like a wise predator.

He's not giving anything away in his demeanor, which helps in his line of business, but it also acts as a bit of a prison. He treats his women badly, and they seem like little more than toys for him to play with. He wants to be a mystery. He has lost the ability to connect.

It was as if he just wanted to maintain his emotionless facade all the time. When he does show emotion it doesn't necessarily make you empathize with him. This results in a kind of nihilism which can also make it difficult to connect with the film.

With really great actors, they can find ways to show a bit of vulnerability which you can latch on to. I don't think that's what the director/actor was interested in. In that respect I think he was successful, but maybe the nihilism isn't my thing.

All not quiet on the eastern front.

[searchanddestroy-1 · 18 September 2011]

What a surprise for this European noir film. I don't know the actors and film makers. But it's worthwhile for a thriller lover like me. I saw some kind of such pictures from time to time. But they are hard to catch on TV airing. Actually, I found it on DVD. it was released in theatres and I missed it. I guess no one saw it. Such a shame.

The tale of a young mob from Estonia, a sort of homeless, but a dangerous one, who lives from some traffics and relations with the Russian mob. He says in the film he has many enemies and some friends too. And the most difficult for him is to separate the firsts from the seconds...We watch here the problems he encounters with some gals, prostitutes and gangsters, in the violent way, as you can guess. But not as I you could expect for such a feature. It's just realistic, no more. This story is the fall of a petty thug, not the rise. It's not SCARFACE. The audience may feel some sympathy for the lead character, the young gangster.

A good noir from eastern Europe.