Watts to lead 'Eastern Promises' cast

Watts in 'King Kong'

Naomi Watts is to lead the cast of new David Cronenberg movie Eastern Promises.

The 37-year-old will play a midwife who gets dragged into Russian criminal gangs after trying to discover the identity of a dead patient.

The thriller about London's seedy underbelly will also star Viggo Mortensen – who worked with Cronenberg on A History Of Violence – as a Russian crime boss.

Filming on the BBC-developed movie starts in London in November.