Views of the parties

The plot of the film is based on real events - an investigation conducted in 1946 by the American occupation authorities as part of the " denazification " of occupied Germany against the outstanding conductor Wilhelm Furtwengler.

The film opens with the footage of Furtwängler ( Stellan Skarsgård ) conducting Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 . The lights go out and the concert has to stop. The minister comes to Furtwegler’s bathroom and advises him to leave the country for a while (alluding to the threat of arrest).

After the liberation of Berlin by the Allied forces, American General Wallace instructs Major Steve Arnold ( Harvey Keitel ) to conduct an investigation in the American occupation zone of Berlin regarding the involvement of famous German cultural figures in the crimes of the Nazi regime. The most famous of them is Furtwengler, Major Arnold receives the task of proving his ties with the Nazi party. Arnold conducts business with Lieutenant David Wills, an American Jew, and secretary Emmaline Straube, the daughter of an activist of a German officer, a member of a conspiracy against Hitler. From the interrogation of the orchestra musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, it turns out that the outstanding conductor defended the Jews who worked in the orchestra, many of whom he saved from the concentration camp, refused to join the Nazi party and give a Nazi salute.

Major Arnold demands Furtwangler to answer uncomfortable questions. Why didn’t he emigrate when the Nazis came to power? Why did he give concerts as part of the celebration of Hitler's birthday and the congress of the Nazi party? Why did the largest conductor in Germany cooperate with the regime? Furtwängler justifies himself by believing that it is necessary to preserve German culture and help the Germans, who were under the oppression of a totalitarian regime, with their performances. At the same time, Furtwengler’s human weaknesses are revealed during the investigation: jealousy of the young conductor Herbert von Karayan , passion for women. Meanwhile, the representative of the Soviet command, Colonel Dymshits ( Oleg Tabakov ) defends the conductor, believing that he performed his duty to the country in difficult conditions and should not have emigrated. In addition, Dymshits has an order to pull out Furtwengler and even offers other musicians in return. Firtwengler and Wills side with the secretary. The position of Major Arnold, after much debate, penetrating an increasing hostility towards Furtwängler, remains unchanged - the larger the figure, the greater the responsibility for his actions. Ultimately, Arnold takes the case to court.

The afterword says that Wilhelm Furtwengler was completely acquitted by the court on all counts and soon returned to the post of head of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. However, he was never allowed to perform in the United States.

At the end of the film, Furtwengler conducts Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in the presence of a number of leaders of the Nazi regime on genuine archive footage. At the end of the performance, Joseph Goebbels , going to the stage, shakes his hand. Bowing to the public, Furtwangler quietly wipes his hand with a handkerchief.

• Official movie website