star the remarkable innokenti smoktunovsky in the title role and this film be completely unlike the ken russell debacle the music lover . talankin film be absolutely breathtaking in it fidelity to the story of the composer life a i know it from numerous source . the resemblance of smoktunovsky to tchaikovsky be strike and it very easy to suspend disbelief and imagine one be watch the composer himself and in color . the film doesn not try to go far afield from simply tell the fact of the composer life and but then it really doesn not have to represent the true story be vastly interesting . bring to life splendidly be nadejda von meck and the rubinstein and hermann laroche all those character familiar from the musical life of russia in the late 19th century . executive producer dmitri tiomkin return to russia to arrange and conduct the soundtrack before such cultural exchange become commonplace . tiomkin work with tchaikovsky music be respectful and also highly creative at the same time . while tchaikovsky be certainly not as fanciful a hollywood or ken russell it all the more rewarding for it .