El Concierto

Originally a Russian film directed by Radu Mihaileanu, El Concierto or Le Concert, was released mostly in Europe and translated only into Spanish and French. I saw the film in Madrid in its original Russian with Spanish subtitles. Now, for anyone who enjoys foreign films, you know how important the subtitles are in films with complex plots. As I do not understand a word of Russian and Spanish is my second language, I felt like the subtitles, usually the life-blood, weren’t necessary in sensing the immense, emotional and hilarious parts of this film.

At the time of Brezhnev, main character, Andrei Filipov was the best conductor of the Soviet Union and led the famous Bolshoi Orchestra. After the war, Jewish musicians were fired along with Andrei and his friend Sacha, forcing him to take up as a janitor in the Bolshoi Theater. Thirty years later, while working late, he finds a fax in his boss’ office asking for the orchestra to perform in Paris. Suddenly, Andrei comes up with a wild idea, why not gather the old musicians of his orchestra, a group of scoundrels and vagrants with talent beyond belief, and pass them off as the legitimate Bolshoi orchestra? The long-awaited opportunity for revenge finally arrived.

The epitome of cinematic elegance and humor, the film has a back story of the Jewish struggle in the Soviet Union as an underscore to the flowing humorous adventure of Andrei and Sacha. Andrei calls on Mélanie Laurent, a famous violinist, to guest star the performance but the story doesn’t end there….

Even if you are not a fan of classical music or Russian, this film digs deep into the life of a man in search of another chance at an ideal life. The score alone provokes emotion in anyone regardless their interest in classical music. Including Tchaikovsky’s Allegro Moderato for violin as the final performance, the music throughout the film leaves you with goose-bumps, the kind you still feel an hour later. You will not be disappointed but do expect: laughs and tears.

Directed By: Radu Mihaileanu – Film Released: 12 March, 2010

By: Meg McCormack