An Afghan POW attempts his escape , but he is captured by the US military in Afghanistan , he is named Mohammed (Vincent Gallo) and is transported to a secret military black site somewhere in the Eastern Europe , being transferred for interrogation (David Price as interrogation officer) at a installation similarly to Guantanamo . When the armed convoy which transports to him suffers a crash accident , Mohammed manages to getaway from his captors , as he escapes across a steep hill, among snowy outdoors and freeze landscapes . Relentlessly chased by an army that officially does not exist, , Monhammed attempts to survive when he finds a countrywoman named Margaret (Emmanuelle Seigner) .

This frenzied movie contains pure action-packed , thriller , suspense , frozen hell and thought-provoking moments . This exciting picture results to be a co-production between Poland|Norway|Ireland| Hungary and deals with an interminable chase in which the protagonist finds himself suddenly free and on the run behind the enemy lines , being relentlessly pursued by American troops on a continent he does not know , that seems to see somewhere in the Eastern Europe . Awesome interpretation by Vincent Gallo as Mohammed , a man who must constantly confront the need to murder in order to survive . Gallo is superb as a real Taliban as physical as playing . Vincent Gallo's role demanded him to do things like walk barefoot on the snow with the temperature reaching minus 30 degrees Celsius. In the breastfeeding scene, Vincent Gallo insisted on getting a real lactating woman for the role. Furthermore , there appears in a secondary role Emmanuelle Seigner , Roman Polanski's muse and wife . While some characters are named in the end credits, no names are used in the film itself . Very good and colorful cinematography by Adam Sikora , showing splendidly hostile, snow blanketed forests and cold landscapes . Emotive and sensitive musical score by Pawel Mykietyn . The motion picture was compellingly directed by the Polish Jerzy Skolimowski . He is a prestigious director, playwright, scriptwriter, painter and actor . And one of the best Polish filmmakers along with Roman Polanski and Andrzej Wajda , both of them are good friends . As Skolimowski has directed good films such as ¨Adventures of Gerard¨ , ¨Deep end¨ , ¨The shout¨, ¨The lightship¨ , ¨Success is the best revenge¨ , ¨Torrents of spring¨ , among others .¨Essential Killing¨ rating : Good , better than average , worthwhile watching .