Le concert (2009)

Thirty years ago, Andrei Simoniovich Filipov, the renowned conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra, was fired for hiring Jewish musicians. Now a mere cleaning man at the Bolshoi, he learns by ... See full summary »

Director:

Radu Mihaileanu

Writers:

Radu Mihaileanu (scenario), Alain-Michel Blanc (scenario)

Stars:

Aleksey Guskov, Mélanie Laurent, Dmitriy Nazarov

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aleksey Guskov	...	Andrey Simonovich Filipov (as Aleksei Guskov)
Dmitriy Nazarov	...	Aleksandr 'Sasha' Abramovich Grosman (as Dimitri Nazarov)
Mélanie Laurent	...	Anne-Marie Jacquet / Lea
François Berléand	...	Olivier Morne Duplessis
Miou-Miou	...	Guylène de La Rivière (as Miou Miou)
Valeriy Barinov	...	Ivan Gavrilov (as Valeri Barinov)
Lionel Abelanski	...	Jean-Paul Carrère
Laurent Bateau	...	Bertrand
Vlad Ivanov	...	Pyotr Tretyakin
Anna Kamenkova	...	Irina Filipova (as Anna Kamenkova Pavlova)
Roger Dumas	...	Momo
Anghel Gheorghe	...	Vassili (as Anghel Gheorghe dit 'Caliu Din Clejani')
Aleksandr Komissarov	...	Viktor Vikich (as Alexander Komissarov)
Vitalie Bichir	...	Moïse
Despina Stanescu	...	Rivka

Storyline

Thirty years ago, Andrei Simoniovich Filipov, the renowned conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra, was fired for hiring Jewish musicians. Now a mere cleaning man at the Bolshoi, he learns by accident that the Châtelet Theater in Paris invites the Bolshoi orchestra to play there. He decides to gather together his former musicians and to perform in Paris in the place of the current Bolshoi orchestra. As a solo violin player to accompany his old Jewish or Gypsy musicians he wants Anne-Marie Jacquet, a young virtuoso. If they all overcome the hardships ahead this very special concert will be a triumph.

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Plot Keywords:

orchestra | concert | gypsy | violin player | tchaikovsky | 

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Taglines:

Impersonating a World Famous Orchestra Isn't Easy Unless You Have the Brass to Pull It Off.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Italy Romania Belgium

Language:

French Russian

Release Date:

4 November 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

El concierto

Filming Locations:

Romania

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

€1,859,866 (France), 8 November 2009, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,742, 1 August 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$657,194, 14 November 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Oï Oï Oï Productions, Les Productions du Trésor, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Melanie Laurent started learning to play the violin only a few months before production. For the concert scenes, she learned all the bow movements, so her bow would always be on the correct string and move convincingly. However, her left hand (and sometimes arm) were digitally added/replaced in post-production.

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Connections

Referenced in Rock'n Roll (2017)

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Soundtracks

Sir Bana Ya Qitar
Performed by Les Musiciens du Nil
(P) 2010 Les Productions Du Tresor / Oi Oi Oi Productions Under Exclusive License To Milan Entertainment, Inc

User Reviews

An explosion of desperate comedy, melancholy drama and passion

The Concert is a French/ Italian/Romanian/Belgian production shot in Moscow and Paris. The publicity blurb says that the musical finale is worth the ticket price alone, but I would say even reading the list of exotic names floating over the opening credits is worth a good percentage of the price.

We travel back 30 years to when Andrei, talented young conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra, was humiliated and sacked by Breshnev for refusing to get rid of his Jewish musicians. Fast forward to the present, and we find him still working at the Bolshoi - but as a cleaner. One lucky day he finds himself alone with the office fax machine. What follows is an audacious plot to get his old sidekicks to Paris, using borrowed instruments, hired suits and fake passports, posing as the real Bolshoi for a concert at the Theatre du Chatelet. If you can imagine a story as full of colour and drama as the TV rock 'n' roll serial epic Tutti Frutti, jammed into just one cinema experience, this could be it. It's rare to see so many set pieces in one film.

I laughed out loud once or twice - and if you know what a grumpy old man I am you would realise what that means. I was also moved to tears, but I'm not telling you why. That would spoil it all - just saying that under its layer of manic fast-cut comedy the story carries a deep, dark and passionate secret which gradually reveals itself as the comedy peels off. The music is, I have to add, beautiful - whether it's Roma dance jigs in the street or Tchaikovsky in the concert hall. Bring a hanky!