REEL CRITICS:

“Eastern Promises” is a riveting study of the Russian mafia’s move into London society. It’s a complex look at the diverse personalities and divided loyalties that infiltrate a mob family as it moves its corrupt operations from east to west.

Director David Cronenberg teams up once again with the excellent Viggo Mortensen from their collaboration on the acclaimed “A History of Violence.” Mortensen plays Nikolai, the driver for the mob. He becomes so immersed in the role that he is hardly recognizable. His outstanding performance is a serious bid to place him among the best actors of our time.

Armin Mueller-Stahl is unnerving as the patriarch of the crime family with ice water in his veins. Vincent Cassel plays his drunken and very careless son. Naomi Watts is the well-intentioned nurse thrown into a terrible situation she does not understand.

Steven Knight’s screenplay is spellbinding. The tension is palpable. The violence is brutal but quick and real and to the point.

Watching this movie makes you feel that you are immersed in the middle of the strange and disturbing world depicted on the screen. “Eastern Promises” will definitely be talked about at Oscar time.

The shadow of death hits home in ‘Valley’

“In The Valley of Elah” is a haunting, well-acted murder mystery and an allegory on the terribly human cost of the war in Iraq.

Paul Haggis (“Crash”) has written and directed a story of retired Army Sgt.Hank Deerfield (a beautifully understated Tommy Lee Jones) whose son, Mike, has gone AWOL after returning from a tour of duty.

He drives from Tennessee to Fort Rudd, N.M., and tries to conduct his own investigation, but the polite officers at the base yield no information.

A local police detective (Charlize Theron) is even more dismissive.

In one of the most moving scenes, an officer appears at Hank’s motel room, and we and Hank both know what has happened — his son has been found dead.

Pain, anguish, rage, sorrow, disbelief — Hank’s emotions are all there to be seen, even as his expression barely changes.

Susan Sarandon makes a brief but powerful appearance as Hank’s neglected, grief-stricken wife who has now lost both sons to military service.

The unfolding mystery of Mike’s death is fraught with tension right up to the heartbreaking reveal.

“Elah” shows that war is more than just bodies being ripped apart — it’s their souls too, and the hearts of their families.

Can we ever recover?

The film’s final image ponders that question more profoundly than words ever could.

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.