 In St. Petersburg, a lad named Slava prepares for a cello recital. The film s title and his teacher s inquiry in the first scene about whether his mother will be in the audience suggest that a mother-son relationship will be at the center of things. However, it s Slava and his father who change. Slava plays hockey, and one suspects that this manly activity is more to the father s liking than is music. Then there s dad s drinking, and Slava s valiant and futile efforts to stop it. Things come to a head when dad hears his son s music.