Superb! The movie starts out slapstick and keeps you wondering what's going to happen as you move toward the concert (climax) Nothing goes as you expect and some scenes are just so ridiculous, I have never seen anything like that captured on film. This is a thoroughly enjoyable film and I suspect even those not into music would agree.

10/10
nanolovesjesus@ - 60 reviews
13.10.2011 - age: 26-35

A determined conductor accomplishing the ultimate feat. Very intense, emotional, provokes deep feelings and sympathies - what a story, a great movie!!

10/10
afgcons@ - first review
19.6.2011 - age: 50+

This movie is an excellent introduction to classical music for those who are not fans. Watching the note for note response from the orchestra to the pull of the solo violin gives you an intense insight into what the symphony (or in this case concerto) is all about.

10/10
i.macmillan@ - 13 reviews
13.11.2010 - age: 50+

Loved it. Especially recommended for classic music lovers. Enjoyed it to the last drop.

8/10
abba.lotus790@ - 16 reviews
6.11.2010 - age: 50+

A great movie! Both very funny and touching. Shows music is without borders and has no social class. A must see, especially if you like classical music and Tchaïkovski!

9/10
bernlarouche@ - 46 reviews
11.8.2010 - age: 36-49

NOT ABOUT ATTAINING THE "ULTIMATE HARMONY" BUT STILL WORTH SEEING/HEARING How did this slap-stick tear-jerker still manage to be a movie that one does not regret having gone to see? And why does it manage to elicit some sobs even from a seasoned cynic? It is not because of any depth: No, music is not about attaining that "ultimate harmony." No, violinists that are sent to their deaths in a Siberian penal colony do not keep playing the Tchaikovsky violin concerto obsessively in their heads and fingers till the last. No, they do not establish posthumous psychic contact with their progeny that way either. The treatment of discrimination against Jews in Russia does sound a few true notes (even though it's mostly the historic doctor's plot conspiracy theory transformed into the fictional musicians' plot) despite the slap-stick caricatures of both Jewish and Gypsy stereotypes. It's certainly not Aleksei Guskov's inept imitation of conducting, nor the almost as inauthentic mash-up of Mélanie Laurent's faux solo, edited into a composite duo with whoever was actually playing the fiddle. But the Tchaikovsky really is beautiful, Mélanie really is pretty, and acts well -- if not always like a real musician; and the longing for lost loved ones resonates despite the superficiality and artificiality of the particulars. And one of the only two bits of subtlety in this crowd-pleaser (the other being a moment of Mahler), is the Gypsy subtheme (subliminal for most, who will not know when it is Romanian Gypsy music that the Romanian director of this Russian/French farce, Radu Mihaleanu, uses to herald and accompany the action), both as a metaphor for it all, and as a light counterpoint to the Tchaikovsky theme. There is even the (no doubt unintended) irony of the fact that Tchaikovsky's music was for a time perversely undervalued (by snobs and pedants, mostly in the West, perhaps not in Russia) as being too sentimental, something of a tear-jerker, playing for popularity rather than for "ultimate harmony." Justice has long since been done, fortunately, to this genius of the first rank.

7/10
nielsseh@ - first review
9.8.2010 - age: 50+ - One reply

Quite rare, this film defies description. Perhaps the ontological worth of this film is best captured by a joke that used to circulate in the Soviet epoch “In communism most freedoms are forbidden. Those that are permitted are mandatory” (note that jokes during the soviet epoch were less funny than telling) Time and again this film is nicely summarized by its own dialogue. Notably one in which the ephemeral pinnacle harmony that an orchestra achieves through a vigorous performance is discerned as the only “real communism. ” Also by a comedic scene in which a former Soviet stooge feels compelled to ask for divine intervention. This movie interlaces drama and comedy to great effect creating a historical and human document of great worth and high entertainment.

9/10
janowitz.pavel@ - 10 reviews
9.8.2010 - age: 26-35

Very fine movie! The story is really good and resembles a lot the real stories you would hear from people who suffered during communism. It is a masterpiece in did!

10/10
dipreg@ - first review
3.8.2010 - age: 18-25

[ATTENTION: This review reveals content of the movie.]
I have to say this is the most touching movie I've seen this year. Very Very touching. There are quite a few glitches in the story (how can an orchestra play perfectly a concerto it hasn't even rehearsed in years?) But regardless, its story is moving, the acting convincing.

8/10
sacoca_@ - 578 reviews
31.7.2010 - age: 26-35

[ATTENTION: This review reveals content of the movie.]
What a wondeful film, the dream of one man that take everyone of his old friend by surprise & give them the chance to perform once again by playing Tchechosky. The scenery of Russia is nice & the way Russians acts is very good. The only thing is at a wedding they get drunk & then the Russian mafia walks in & starts killing people other then that the film is excellent the music the eyes contact between the maestro & the single violinist is very touching & so tense, when they play it felt as is I was in that great hall with them in Paris. I truly recommend this film to all the family.

10/10
monksag@ - 47 reviews
29.6.2010 - age: 50+ - One reply

I saw this movie at a film festival last year -- a very good movie with a great story and geared especially for those who love classical movie. A must see.

8/10
vin.2000@ - 119 reviews
23.6.2010

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