It has been a while since I’ve seen a movie this good. I really liked it and I will explain why. The outlined story is about an American couple who have previously volunteered abroad in China. They elect to travel back to the states while taking the internationally Trans-Siberia Express railway train ride, which reaches across from east to west through Russia. The ride is a long journey, and along the way they find more than they expected. This was directed by Brad Anderson who also helped write the story with Will Conroy. I thought it was similar in some respects to an Alfred Hitchcock film. It seemed to have some of the elements that are an ongoing subtle presence in his films.
Woody Harrelson plays a man named Roy who is married to Jessie played by British actress Emily Mortimer. This movie really let her showcase her talents, and she shines through in the role of Jessie. Another couple shares their compartment aboard the train with them and changes everything. Kate Mara plays a young American woman named Abby and Eduardo Noriega plays her boyfriend named Carlos. Ben Kingsley later appears as Grinko and German actor Thomas Kretschmann plays Kolzak. There are more appearances by Etienne Chicot as the Frenchman, Mac McDonald plays the Minister, Colin Stinton is the Embassy Official, Perlis Vaisieta Manager Hotel Pushkin, Mindaugas Papinigis was the Young Detective, Mindaugas Capas was the Military Officer, Visockaite Sonata was Female Train Attendant #1, Larisa Kalpokaite was Female Train Attendant #2, and Valentinas Krulikovskis was the Young Waiter.
The character Roy enjoys trains and even collects them, later on it will pay off for him within the story. He is a typical nice average everyday guy and he loves his wife Jessie who he met by accident. Jessie has past issues dealing from many things from sex to drugs that seemingly put a strain on their marriage. I think you will find this film to be very enjoyable and suspenseful in not predicting where the story will go next. I highly recommend this one and think it was done very well.
