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David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen, and Vincent Cassell on the set of Eastern Promises Peter Mountain/Courtesy of Focus Features

Ask people their impressions of David Cronenberg, and most will still conjure up lingering, disturbing imagery from body-horror classics like The Fly, Dead Ringers or, perhaps most notoriously, Videodrome, wherein James Wood's abdomen sprouts a vaginal VCR slot. Cronenberg's fascination with both the fragility and vigor of the human body hasn't diminished with time, but he's now funnelling his transgressive obsessions into masterfully orchestrated crime thrillers, resulting in the most mature work of his career and propelling the silver-maned Canadian director from cultdom into the mainstream. Following its predecessor A History of Violence, with which it shares many connections, Cronenberg's latest, Eastern Promises, also stars Viggo Mortensen as a man who suppresses the ultra-violence within, only to summon it when he needs it most.

As chauffeur to a gangland boss's unhinged son (Vincent Cassel), Mortensen's Nikolai is a lowly cog in a brutal Russian crime machine operating in London, led by the seemingly benevolent restaurant owner Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl). This dark, concealed world of sex-slave rings and abject cruelty exported from post-Soviet Russia to a London you don't see on postcards intrigued Cronenberg, and he latched onto Steven Knight's inspired script as soon as it crossed his desk, working with the screenwriter to put his own, distinctive stamp on the final film.

At the Toronto Film Festival, where Eastern Promises won the People's Choice Award, the native son (he was born in the city and graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Literature) settles down with Premiere to reveal his reasons behind making the film, casting Viggo Mortensen, and how he crafted the most phenomenal and brutal fight scene you'll see this year.

What were your thoughts behind who you cast as your Russian gangsters?
When I was reading this script, there were three faces I thought of right away — and it doesn't always happen that way: I thought of Viggo, I did think about Vincent Cassel, and I did think of Armin Mueller-Stahl. I didn't think of Naomi Watts right away because the character in the first draft I read was somewhat different. And that was before I'd even anticipated what the problems might be getting real Russians to play Russians, because it was a consideration. And there are some very good Russian actors around but they don't speak English very well, and to find the right actor who's Russian who's English is also good enough to act in English — that was tricky.

You ended up with quite a mixed bag of nationalities playing Russians.
Well, as soon as I started to think about European actors, it immediately made me come back to my initial feelings about Armin and Vincent. I had suppressed them a bit only because the idea of having an American, a German, and a Frenchman all playing Russians, and having to bring them to Russian accents that sounded alike, that was a little daunting, and it was something to worry about. But if you get actors who are really good… I mean I've said it many times, but I'm relatively lazy, so if I can get brilliant actors, that takes a lot of pressure off you.