One of my all time favorites.

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Lopushansky's second film focuses on a few hours in the life of a soloist musician during the siege of Leningrad, in WWII. The Leningrad philharmonic is going to play Chaikovsky's 5th Symphony, which is to be broadcast to England. The soloist, like his fellow musicians, is weak and half-starved, and doubts whether he will be able to perform well enough. Several of Lopushansky's later aesthetic choices already show in this early film: dark interiors, ominous music, profound respect for his characters. Main character easily carried through by N. Grinko. Definitely well worth watching.