Mustering a motley crew of Russian musicians with rusty skills to perform at a top venue in Paris is a premise with plenty of comic potential – even if the idea that they can make beautiful music together at the drop of a hat is a bit far-fetched. Still, if you can manage to suspend disbelief and go with the flow, it's easy enough to be swept away by the enthusiasm and energy of this unlikely ensemble. Cultural differences between the unruly mob of Slavs and their more sophisticated French hosts play a large part in the humour, and director Radu Mihaileanu highlights the contrast by using fixed camera shots to illustrate Parisian elegance, while hand-held cameras follow the frenetic antics of the Russians.The cast of characters include an elderly trombonist who insists that his asthma actually improves his playing, and a gypsy violinist who is particularly well-accomplished on the fiddle, with a sideline in arranging fake passports for orchestra members who need them in a hurry. The character-generated humour works up to a point, occasionally treading a fine line between comic exaggeration and racial stereotyping. Scenes where the Russians speak in faltering French present a particular challenge in the sub-titling, as the comic touch runs the risk of becoming lost in translation. The whole plan is orchestrated by Andrei Filipov, played by Alexei Guskov, a seasoned veteran of the East European movie scene, who gives an earnest and likable performance in the role, though he comes across as more of a straight man than a natural comedian. Demoted from conductor to cleaner at the Bolshoi Theatre, he discovers that the Bolshoi Orchestra has been invited to play a concert in Paris, but keeps the news to himself and plans to take his own orchestra instead. There is further motivation for him to go to Paris in the form of virtuoso violinist Anne-Marie Jacquet, a woman whose talents he so admires that he keeps a secret stash of all her CD's and press clippings. A trail of clues seems to suggest a father-daughter relationship, but this is something of a red herring, as the past connection between the pair is not quite so obvious. Melanie Laurent, best known to an international audience for her role as Shosanna Dreyfuss in Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds, has a luminous screen presence as the virtuoso violinist who is haunted by the music of Tchaikovsky for reasons she cannot quite fathom. Laurent, who is left-handed, learnt to play the violin for the part, a daunting task as the instrument cannot be converted and must be played right-handed. Bravo: her playing looks authentic enough and no-one can say she isn't prepared to suffer for her art. While the challenge of playing a cool and self-controlled character appears to place constraints on her emotional range at times, she is finally able to give her feelings full expression in the climactic scene, when Jacquet faces her fears to perform Tchaikovsky's violin concerto for the first time. The score combines original music by Armand Amar with the sublime harmonies of Tchaikovsky, a fine blend in keeping with the musical theme. Mihaileanu neatly ties up loose ends in the highly-charged final scene, interspersing highlights of the concert with flashbacks telling the fate of the Jewish musicians from three decades earlier, while flash forwards show the orchestra on a world tour following their success in Paris. The message that reverberates through to the final chord is that people's lives can be transformed, at least temporarily, through the shared experience of music, which crosses barriers of language and culture to achieve harmony and perfection. The fine performances from the players in this concert may merit a round of applause, but the transcendental music of Tchaikovsky is the star.

This film is about a renowned Russian conductor who got publicly humiliated 30 years ago for hiring Jewish musicians. He sorts out his unfinished business by gathering a group of friends to pretend to be the Bolshoi Orchestra."The Concert" treads a fine line, as it is not easy to make a film funny and serious at the same time. It manages that successfully, as it provides many comedic moments; I am particularly entertained by the negotiations between the French and the Russians, and how the Jewish musicians exercised their business acumen. The drama is engaging and emotional too, and the emotional climax is gracefully augmented by beautiful music. "The Concert" is a very good film.

I've wanted to see this ever since the Oscar nominations came out and I browsed the entries for BFF over breakfast - it caught my eye then as an appealing premise. I was rewarded finally on a transatlantic flight to the UK last Sunday. Though the screen was small, the noise suppression headset provided an audio banquet of delight and yes, I had several moments of laugh-out-loud appreciation for this highly-entertaining film. I've always been a sucker for Russian literature & music; I've long been amazed that some of the most powerfully impressive art has come from one of the harshest environments and span of history (indeed, I'm a third of the way thru The Brothers Karamazov right now and I haven't touched Dostoyevsky in 40 years, since high school). The movie is a balance of emotion - it touches and massages every one, with humor, sympathy, concern, disappointment, frustration, anxiety, and the music, always the music. Seeing a familiar face again (Ms. Laurent) was an unexpected bonus, and her appeal for me was the same I realize now as it was in Tarantino's film, as some unfortunate's daughter, and you can't help but desire for her comfort and happiness. Best movie of the year, so far. Oh, and I'm downloading the soundtrack now from Amazon.

Andrei Filipov, a talented Russian conductor, has been reduced to being a janitor in the theater that he loved and showed a promise some years ago. He had the audacity to defy the then president Brezhnev when he gave the order to fire all the Jewish musicians of the orchestra, by going ahead in a performance with all the Jewish musicians the higher ups wanted to banish. In fact, Filipov suffers the ultimate humiliation as he is conducting the Tchaikovski violin concerto. Ivan Gavrilov, the head of the Bolshoi comes to him on stage and proceeds to break his baton.Some years later, Filipov cleaning the Bolshoi's manager office, reads an incoming fax in which the head of the Chatelet theater in Paris is asking his Russian counterpart for an appearance since a slot has become available. Andrei has no problem in stealing the fax and sets out a plan in which to dupe the French into believing the real Bolshoi will be appearing at the Chatelet. For that he must ask his old rival, Gavrilov, to help him at last finish his rendition of the famous concert."Le concert" is a Russian-French co-production conceived and directed by Radu Mihaileanu, although it is based on a story by Hector Cabello Reyes and Thiery Degrandi. The comedy is basically seen from the Russian point of view. Andrei is able to assemble a motley crew of old Jewish musicians that were banned from playing in their native land because of prevailing prejudice against talented people that were seen as a threat to the government because of their intelligence.Andrei Filipov, through Gavrilov, demands the present of a young French violinist, Anne-Marie Jacquet, whose past, we get to know, has a connection with the maestro. The revelation is not earth shattering since the viewer has already guessed why Andrei wants Anne-Marie as the soloist for the Tchaikovski.Aleksei Guskov appears as Andrei Filipov, the disgraced musician. His sidekick is played by Dmitri Nazarov. Melanie Laurent makes an appealing Anne-Marie. Miou-Miou, Laurent Bateau and Francois Berland are seen in supporting roles.