People will like to say that 'Eastern Promises' is brutal, but the only reason they say that is because the scenes stick with them. They are realistic. They are in-your-face and you see the consequences. It's not a bunch of quick editing cuts.

I'm optimistic about people and about the planet and about nature. I think it's resilient, like people are.

There's no sense in doing something, especially if it's a hard job, if you can't have a little fun.

If there's one thing I've learned from traveling, it's that it is definitely more important how you are than where you are. You can say, 'Oh, I hate X city, I hate that country, or I prefer this city,' but it's a little bit up to you to find some kind of happiness.

As Martin Luther King said, "Passively to participate in an unjust system is to accept that system and to participate in its evil."

It's easy to get depressed and think, "Well, what's the point?" But it's the same as, "Well, we're all going to die, so what's the point in brushing my teeth or even saying hello to anyone or obeying traffic lights." You can do that, but that's certainly not going to take you anywhere.

You can't really divorce yourself and your life from the world you live in.