Khachaturian (2003)

This film is about the life of Khachaturian - a composer creating in the darkness of a tragic era. As we will see, like most Soviet citizens, he hid a complex private life behind a mask of Communist loyalty. Khachaturian was the President of the powerful Composers Union of the Soviet Union, and as a communist party functionary wielded great influence over the course of Russian music. However, he was also a comrade and personal friend to the dissident composers of the time Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and others. This documentary shows the fine line a man had to tread between being a loyal party functionary on the one hand, and a fighter for artistic freedom on the other.