ELEGHIA ZHIZNI. ROSTROPOVICH. VISHNEVSKYJA

One of the most remarkable husband-and-wife teams in musical history, Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya, now both 79, remain cogent interviewees. The former, raised in a thoroughly musical family, impresses with his astute observations on musicians and composers, while the latter, essentially a natural talent, provides some of the docu's most moving moments as she reminisces on the cruel ironies of life (especially the death of her son). Sokurov uses a celeb-packed, 50th wedding anniversary dinner as a cornerstone for the film - as well as an opportunity to indulge his ongoing fascination for royalty and aristocracy. Sokurov criss-crosses between the glitzy chow-down, sequences of Rostropovich rehearsing a cello concerto by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki with the Vienna Philharmonic, and lengthy, one-on-one interviews with the duo about music, life and the state of the universe. Between times, however, Vishnevskaya regally laments the current lack of «big women» who could fill a hall with their voices. Clips from her own performances, including «The Queen of Spades» and the 1966 opera pic, «Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk», show what she means. (Derek Elley)