The Concert is a mish-mosh of a comedy, by turns amusing, schmaltzy, insightful, implausible, goofy and emotional. As the title implies, the picture culminates in a concert, and (trust me, this is not a spoiler) Tchaikovsky saves the day – gloriously, upliftingly, movingly. Which might be why someone recommended The Concert to me, and ultimately, why you might want to put this one on your list. It is fluff, but it’s entertaining, with a nice payoff..
The movie is a French/Romanian co-production and most of the actors are Russian or French. The story opens in Moscow, at the offices of the (fictional) Bolshoi Symphony, where poor, soulful Andrey (Aleksey Guskov) works as a janitor. But it was not always thus. Thirty years ago, Andrey was the Maestro. But in the midst of a grand performance of Tchaikovski’s Violin Concerto, he was abruptly fired, for employing Jewish musicians in violation of a Brezhnev edict. In disgrace, his career tragically ended, he fell prey to alcoholism, depression and thoughts of what might have been. Now, as he sweeps, he sees a fax coming in from Theater du Châtelet in Paris, inviting the Bolshoi to play there in two weeks (the L.A. Philharmonic having cancelled a show). Andrey sees a chance at redemption: he’ll gather up the old crew and perform the Tchaikovsky in Paris, impersonating the Bolshoi!
Not a bad set up for a comedy. Gather up a bunch of former musicians (oddballs all), scam the stuffed shirt French muckety-mucks, overcome numerous logistical obstacles (money, visas, tuxedos, haircuts, lack of practice), and play beautiful music. There are shades of the Music Man here, or perhaps The Bad News Bears. This being Russia, the ragtag band includes gypsies, Jews, Slavs, and other stereotypes. There are also former communists to ridicule and abuse; and some silly fractured French spoken by the vistors, which French viewers presumably find hilarious. The plot requires much suspension of disbelief. Somehow, though, The Concert carries us along despite the implausibility of the story, and some less than funny bits.
Helping the enterprise are some strong performances: Guskov is soulful and revealing as Andrey; Dimitri Nazarov, as Andrey’s best friend Sasha, is excitable yet wise and supportive; and Melanie Laurent, as the young French violin virtuoso Anne-Marie Jacquet, who is engaged as the soloist for the violin concerto, finds the perfect balance between an intrigued interest in Andrey and his project and growing disbelief at the apparent haplessness of the undertaking. By the end of the film, Laurent, who played the theater owner with a secret in Inglorious Basterds a few years ago, finds the answers to some secrets here as well. She also pulls off a phenomenal feat in convincing us that she is, in fact, a virtuoso violinist.
Despite the slapstick and some awkward comedic moments, and though we know it’s coming, The Concert comes through in the end with a theatrical and moving performance of the Tchaikovsky. You may want to have a tissue at hand.
Available on DVD, and from Netflix. DVD offers the original, in Russian and French with English subtitles, or a version dubbed in English, if you prefer not to read and can handle bad lip-synch and odd voices.
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