The film is dedicated to one of the most dramatic pages in the history of Russian culture - the creation and first performance of Dmitry Shostakovich's Thirteenth Symphony based on the poems of Yevgeny Yevtushenko. The narrative focuses on the events of December 1962, when, on the eve of the premiere of the Babi Yar symphony, a tense struggle unfolded around the work due to the unwillingness of the Soviet authorities to openly talk about the tragedy of the mass extermination of Jews during the Nazi occupation.
However, the film goes far beyond the reconstruction of historical events. This is a deep study of the personality of Dmitry Shostakovich himself, a creator who had to exist in the most difficult circumstances of his time, preserving inner freedom, human dignity and loyalty to art and duty.
