Russian

“Eastern Promises” is a riveting study of the Russian mafia’s move into London society. It’s a complex look at the diverse personalities and divided loyalties that infiltrate a mob family as it moves its corrupt operations from east to west. Director David Cronenberg teams up once again with the excellent Viggo Mortensen from their collaboration on the acclaimed “A History of Violence.” Mortensen plays Nikolai, the driver for the mob. He becomes so immersed in the role that he is hardly recognizable.

Where: Moscow Deli, 3015 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, (714) 546-3354 What’s in it: A homemade recipe brought from Russia to the store Yelena Kagan opened 11 years ago. It is a beef bullion-based soup with cabbage, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, herbs, celery and onions. Cost: $3.99 for 12 ounces or $4.99 for 20 ounces. Why you should order it: People drive from all over Orange County to shop at the authentic Russian delicatessen. I would walk many miles in the snow, uphill both ways for some of Kagan’s borscht.

Kirov Opera baritone Viktor Chernomortsev stumbled upon his opera career while walking with friends in Krasnodar, Russia, when he was a young man. A Moscow Conservatory vocal coach approached the Russian baritone, who was casually singing with his friends, telling him he needed to learn how to use his voice. Then she asked him to study under her at the conservatory. He took her up on it and an opera star was born. This weekend, Chernomortsev will sing in "Boris Godunov," a classic Russian opera based on the Russian czar by the same name who ruled in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The Diamond and Pearl Ball, held at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort, raised $1.18 million for the Beckstrand Cancer Foundation. The recent Saturday evening gala honored the late Andi Collins , a teen who lost her battle with inflammatory breast cancer at the age of 16. An auxiliary support group of Beckstrand was formed and formally announced in memory of Andi. They are calling the group Four Pearls — for Andi and founders Veronica and Stephanie Muth and sister Lauren Collins . Their mission will be to raise funds to support a Beckstrand pediatric hospice program.

Marisa O'Neil Most parents want to see their children spread their wings and fly. Few get to do it literally. Yesterday, Newport Harbor High School senior and Russian native Edik Passmore made his first solo flight out of John Wayne Airport after three months of training. His mother, Newport Beach resident Susan Jordan-Passmore, said that he's been fascinated with flying ever since she and husband John Passmore adopted their son from a St. Petersburg orphanage seven years ago. "It's been his dream, always, to be a pilot," his mother said.

Sue Clark On Saturday, I attended a heart-breaking funeral. One of my former students, from a close-knit Russian community, had been shot in Sacramento and had died at age 17. Pavel, or Paul, as we called him, had a handsome face and a personality that could only be described as "merry." He was not a perfect guy; he wasn't particularly academic and often goofed around in class. He had a loud voice and a big sense of humor, so he was invariably caught.

It was a royal luncheon at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort. Archduke Dr. Géza von Habsburg, grandson of King Frederick Augustus III, of Saxony and great-great grandson of Emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria arrived in Newport Beach at the invitation of Mona Lee Nesseth , representing the Fashionable Women of Chapman University. Von Habsburg, an international authority on the work of Fabergé, addressed a gathering of local citizens who came together for lunch and shared in a magical lesson in 19th and 20th century Russian and greater European history.

Cathy Duckworth Citizen Correspondent  I could not even imagine that adopting 10 pounds of white Malte-Poo fluff, named Daisy, could turn my household upside down. Not quite sure what to expect with a pet that was not under my care since birth, and not really knowing what the true background of the animal was, I still knew the right thing to do was to go the rescue adoption route rather than purchase through a pet store.   Was she abandoned and abused? Did she have behavioral problems that I would not be able to deal with?

Theatergoers whose only experience with Anton Chekhov's brooding, introspective plays, such as "The Sea Gull" or "The Cherry Orchard," may be surprised to learn that the Russian playwright cut his creative teeth on the lighter side of life. Three such examples are on display at Orange Coast College in a program titled "Anton Chekhov Short Comedies," assembled by the students of the OCC Repertory Theater. They range from slapstick to subtlety, often intermingling the genres.

Indeed, the Russians are coming. The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra of St. Petersburg will play an all-Tchaikovsky program at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall on Oct. 13 and 17. Four of the six finished symphonies by the popular Russian composer are planned: Symphony No. 2 (nicknamed the "Little Russian") and Symphony No. 5 for Oct. 13; and Symphony No. 3 (aka the "Polish") and Symphony No. 4 for Oct. 17. Both concerts, led by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, begin at 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. pre-concert lecture.

COSTA MESA — The Orange County Performing Arts Center has teamed up with a world-renowned Russian ballet company to create a new dance program, titled "Reflections. " An open rehearsal Friday afternoon at Founders Hall featured the production's six ballerinas and four male dancers, all of whom studied at or currently perform with Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet Academy, one of the most prestigious schools of ballet in the world. Work on the production began Aug. 11. "Reflections" premieres at OCPAC on Jan. 20 and runs through Jan. 23 in Segerstrom Hall.

Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 was dark and turbulent, conveying tragedy. More than a century later, at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, Valery Gergiev gave it life. The world-renowned Russian conductor led the Mariinsky Orchestra in a performance Wednesday night that took the audience back to the summer of 1902 in Worthersee, an alpine lake in southern Austria, and to the small cottage where Mahler composed his symphony. “Today was different from what I did here before, this symphony sounded very powerful and special,” Gergiev said in a post-concert interview.

The defense attorney for a Costa Mesa man and an associate from Mira Loma, whose trial for allegedly shooting and kidnapping a man for ransom ended in a mistrial last month, is slated to meet Monday with a federal judge and prosecutors. Vagan Adzhemyan, of Costa Mesa, and Galvin Shaun Gibson, of Mira Loma, were tried last month for allegedly taking part in the July abduction of a Russian man in a Los Angeles County parking garage. The jury was hung, and the judge declared a mistrial, officials from the U.S. attorney’s office said.

It was a royal luncheon at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort. Archduke Dr. Géza von Habsburg, grandson of King Frederick Augustus III, of Saxony and great-great grandson of Emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria arrived in Newport Beach at the invitation of Mona Lee Nesseth , representing the Fashionable Women of Chapman University. Von Habsburg, an international authority on the work of Fabergé, addressed a gathering of local citizens who came together for lunch and shared in a magical lesson in 19th and 20th century Russian and greater European history.

Cathy Duckworth Citizen Correspondent  I could not even imagine that adopting 10 pounds of white Malte-Poo fluff, named Daisy, could turn my household upside down. Not quite sure what to expect with a pet that was not under my care since birth, and not really knowing what the true background of the animal was, I still knew the right thing to do was to go the rescue adoption route rather than purchase through a pet store.   Was she abandoned and abused? Did she have behavioral problems that I would not be able to deal with?

A Santa Ana gang member was convicted of first-degree murder Tuesday for his part in killing a blind albino Russian gang member from Costa Mesa in June 2006. Ruben Oliveros, 27, was found guilty of first-degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for the crime benefiting a gang and a felony count of street terrorism with an enhancement of using a gun and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison at his sentencing next month, officials said. On June 6, 2006, Raffi Yessayan, was riding in his car with Oliveros and two other men, Marco Charcas-Fernandez, 23, of Santa Ana and Aurelio Saldivar, 30, of Costa Mesa.

It’s hard to believe that Oliver Stone could fashion a sympathetic look at the life of George W. Bush. But his intricate psychological portrait of our current president seems to do just that. The screenplay of “W.” skips back and forth in time, which helps to reveal the many factors that led to the formation of the mind set that drives our commander in chief. The basic facts of the story are familiar from several well-known insider accounts. Excerpts taken from actual speeches and news conferences present an accurate record of real comments made by Bush in response to questions raised by reporters and the public.

NEWPORT BEACH — From all angles, photographers took quality shots of Anna Kournikova on the court Wednesday. Kournikova didn’t with her racquet in her World Team Tennis debut for 2008. Blame it on rust, being unfamiliar with her St. Louis Aces teammates, and a late arrival to Newport Beach for the Breakers easily winning, 23-14. “It was of course a little sad because we lost,” Kournikova said. “It’s always hard to play the first match.