Viggo Mortensen is known to thoroughly investigate his roles, and in Eastern Promises his explorations actually changed the script in some drastic and crucial ways, namely the inclusion of Russian prison tattoos and their complex symbology. Intercut with behind the scenes footage displaying Viggo’s progression of tats, this short featurette explains the role of tattooing in the film and illuminates the otherwise esoteric meanings of the inked inscriptions that litter his body.