To our glorious leader, Stalin.
I know your parents were both found guilty
of anti-Soviet corruption,
and they were sent to a camp
that they never came back from.
They killed my parents.
I won't do it anymore.
Russia's doors are about to be bolted
from the inside. Help me,
and Sofia's trip to Paris is nothing more
than a stopover to America.
How do I get the tapes to you?
Sofia must bring them to Paris,
and then deliver them to the embassy.
They'll kill you,
after they torture you first.
The last thing that I want is for you to be involved.
I've been involved for 30 years. I love you.
Sofia will never have the life
she deserves in this country.
- We have to-- - We have to let her go.
♪ solemn music ♪
There was only a small window
of opportunity to succeed.
From the Conservatorie du Perinet,
across Haussmann,
onto Franklin Delano Roosevelt Avenue.
Left onto Avenue Gabriel.
Follow that all the way to the U.S. embassy.
Deliver the tapes to Richard Vanderwhile,
and ask him to call
every phone line in the Metropol Hotel
at exactly 10:30.
It all sounded so simple.
♪ lush orchestral music ♪
You say it's blue, but which blue?
Cobalt? Cerulean? Atlassian?
It's blue.
And the length?
Below the knee, above the ankle.
Because if it's too long,
it'll interfere with the pedals.
Is above the ankle too long?
Well, no.
Then it won't interfere with the pedals.
And you avoided silk,
because that would just crease in her bag.
Uh, velvet would be a very good choice.
Sofia's putting on the dress as we speak.
I think we're a little bit beyond fabric choices.
No, I-I know.
Just want it to be right.
Sit down and be quiet.
How are you getting on in there?
Nearly done.
Ready?
Oh...
you look magnificent.
Doesn't she, though?
Marina, you have done such a wonderful job.
You must let me give you something for it.
No. No, no, no. This is my gift to Sofia.
Give us a twirl, let's see it.
Oh!
Oh...
It's beautiful.
Thank you, Auntie Marina.
We could take it up a little more.
It's missing something. I know.
There.
This can't be real.
It's perfect.
After my first paying job, I bought it for myself.
Instead of saving or spending wisely,
I wanted to get something just for me.
It's too much. I can't-- I can't accept this.
Well, I won't take it back, so it's yours now.
You look so grown up.
Dad...
It's wonderful.
You really excelled yourself, Marina.
I better take it off before I get something on it.
Are you all right?
I blinked,
and the little girl I played games with
for hours on end has vanished.
How is it possible that she will soon be gone?
I think it's time you told her.
Sofia, I...
You won't be coming back.
What are you talking about?
After your performance in Paris,
you'll make your way to the U.S. embassy,
and from there, you'll be flown to America.
Sofia?
I'm sorry, I just--
America?
No, I understand. It's a lot to take on board.
A lot to take on board?
I leave in three days' time.
This country will be the ruin of you.
As it has been for so many others.
But that doesn't mean you have to send me away.
No one's sending you away.
Then what would you call it?
We want you to have a future.
What about you and Anna?
I can't just leave you behind.
No.
We'll-we'll join you there afterwards.
I haven't worked out all the details, but...
We'll make our way to Finland,
and we'll get a steamer from there to New York.
They'll have guards watching all the doors.
So how will I get away?
Well, your chance will come at the end,
when the audience leaves.
You'll wear a disguise, and then join a group
and walk out past all the guards,
- just like everyone else. - You'll have to cut your hair.
But you are quite early on in the running order,
so you'll have plenty time to prepare
before the final piece ends.
The whole orchestra do the curtain call
after the final piece.
They'll notice I'm gone.
You'll have enough of a head start.
Sofia...
...if you're caught...
I know what will happen if they catch me.
Just say the word and we'll take all this
up to the roof and burn it straightaway.
We'll forget all about it.
I want to be free.
I want all of us to be free.
So do I.
More than anything.
When will you leave?
Well, the moment I set foot out of this place,
they'll raise the alarm.
And then they'll watch you even more closely.
So we'll have to wait until we know you've escaped.
When you get to the embassy, tell Richard Vanderwhile
to have his people call every phone line in the Metropol.
The phones should start ringing here about 10:30,
and when I hear that, I'll know you're safe,
and then I'll leave.
And then?
Don't worry about us.
You know, why don't we let your papa
finish packing your things,
and you and I can go have a drink to relax.
I first met your mother
sitting on these very stools.
I invited your papa for a drink,
and Nina nominated herself our chaperone.
This was on your first date?
Well, to call it a date is generous.
I wish I could remember her like I used to.
She would have been so proud of you
and the incredible young woman you've become.
I'm proud, too.
Immeasurably so.
I owe it all to you and Papa.
I'm your daughter, too.
You are.
I won't be there tomorrow.
We don't want to draw attention to ourselves.
And I'm not sure I could watch you walk out that door
and not bawl my eyes out.
How long will I have to wait for you
before you reach America?
Don't wait.
Live your life.
You have so much to look forward to.
Don't waste a second of it looking back.
I'd be jealous if I wasn't so damned pleased for you.
Oh, my darling girl.
Better get back to your papa.
He'll be thinking I've stolen you away
for the evening.
Are you not having dinner with us?
I want tonight to be for you and him.
Good luck.
Remember how I taught you how to walk onto stage.
Stand tall.
Straight back.
- Head up. - Head up.
- Relaxed shoulders. - Relaxed shoulders.
And walk like the ground beneath your feet
belongs to you, and you alone.
Walk through life that way, too.
I will.
Goodbye, Sofia.
♪ tranquil music ♪
Good evening, sir. Over there.
Your table awaits.
Merci, Andrey.
Chablis Premier Cru.
1948.
- I shall leave you to your meal. - Thank you, Andrey.
♪ Papa may have ♪
♪ But God bless the child ♪
♪ That's got his own... ♪
- Okroshka? - Absolutely.
Before you travel abroad,
it's best to have a simple, heartwarming soup from home.
There are three lessons I wish to impart
before you take off on your journey.
Only three? You do surprise me.
The first...
is that if one does not master one's circumstances--
One is mastered by them.
The second:
the surest sign of wisdom is constant cheerfulness.
And the third thing I would like you to know...
♪ You've got lots... ♪
...I shall be incredibly sad
in your absence,
but I'll be full of joy
thinking of the adventures that you'll have.
We'll have.
You're talking as if you won't be there.
Oh. A-a turn of phrase.
♪ They don't come no more... ♪
You are going to be there, aren't you, Papa?
I want to be.
♪ You can help yourself ♪
♪ But don't take too much... ♪
You've always said one of your greatest regrets was
not having the chance to say a proper goodbye to Helena.
It is.
Let's not make the same mistake again.
♪ That's got his own... ♪
I'm going to America on my own.
They were willing to give you asylum,
but Anna and me was too much.
What are you going to do? You can't stay here.
Well, we'll take a train
from Moscow to Finland, as I said.
From there, we'll have to see.
I prevented my sister
from living the life that she wanted.
And it destroyed her.
I won't make the same mistakes again.
But if you hadn't of made those mistakes,
you wouldn't have been sentenced to life imprisonment
in the Metropol Hotel.
You wouldn't have met my mother,
and you wouldn't have been here
the night she came here with me...
...needing your help.
That frightened little girl never would have had her papa.
Since the day I was born, Sofia,
there was only one time
when life needed me to be
in a particular place at a particular time,
and that was when your mother brought you
to the lobby of the Metropol.
I promised her that I would take care of you,
and I intend to keep that promise
by getting you safely away from this place.
I'll miss you so much.
And I you.
♪ gentle, wistful music ♪
Oh.
- Ah. There you are. - Whoa, look at her.
I want you to say hello to Paris for me.
- I will. - Okay? You take care.
Hmm?
Bye, Marina. I'll try to do your dress proud.
- You couldn't fail to. - Good luck.
I'll miss you all so much.
Oh, Sofia, it's only for two weeks.
You'll be the belle of Paris.
I don't think I can do it.
Yes, you can.
You can do anything you turn your mind to.
Now you have to just let go.
Turn.
Walk out of that door.
♪ slow, dramatic music ♪
Goodbye.
Uh, the... the best tonic for sadness
is probably good wine, good food
- and even better company. - Yes.
- Come, my friend. Come, come. - Yes.
Thank you. Emile.
Oh, Emile, the bouillabaisse is absolutely delicious.
Mm-hmm. - Thank you.
I'm waiting for you to say it...
- I know you're going to say it. - What are you talking about?
Go on.
Mm. Mm.
It tastes...
...better in France.
Yeah, everything always does.
I know, I know, I've got it.
Andrey...
you were a clown.
No. No.
Andrey used to work under the big top...
Oh, yeah.
...but he refuses to tell us what he did.
A lion tamer? An acrobat.
A trapeze artist. Close.
A juggler? Hmm.
That's it. You-- you're a juggler.
- Show us. - Yeah, show us.
Prove it.
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Oranges?
In the circus, it used to be knives I juggled with.
- Do we have knives? - Let's see it.
Yeah. Marina, not-not the, uh...
Ah. Beauty, beauty.
Ah, no. Andrey, don't you dare.
But, but...
I need one more.
Uh... No, you can't.
- Not Florence. - Florence?
You gave it a name?
- Hand it over. - Really?
I need it.
Oh.
Whoa!
Thank you.
The man is a marvel!
Thank you.
Where I grew up,
there was an old legend
that, hidden deep in the forest, there was a tree
with apples as black as coal.
And if you could find this tree and eat of its fruit,
you could live your life anew.
Begin the journey again--
tantalizing thought.
When we're young, we...
we imagine our lives stretching out before us--
an arrow-straight path through the forest.
And at our age, we look behind us
and all we see are trees--
the path long since obscured
by all the twists and turns that life takes.
Hardly recognize the person we once were.
But there is nothing that would make eat that apple,
because even though it might erase the-the terrible wrongs
and the unfortunate events of my life,
it would also undo all the joy
and happiness that I've had along the way--
the friends that I've loved...
this wonderful life that I give thanks for every day.
So...
To a life lived without regret. Mm.
A life lived without regret.
Wait. Wait!
I would like to make a toast.
I would eat the bloody apple.
- To eating the bloody apple. - To eating the bloody apple.
- Marina, why would you say that? - It's a joke.
- It's a joke. I'm joking. - Oh, yes, I...
And I have to confess...
...this bouillabaisse is probably the...
best I've ever had. Aw...
I came to say goodbye.
Are you going somewhere?
In a manner of speaking.
I've seen a lot of men die.
Women, too.
They don't beg for their lives.
If I'm in the room, they know that's of little use.
Instead, it's,
"Tell my wife, son, daughter...
I love them."
You see, when they left the house that morning,
they had no idea they'd never return.
They never got to say all of the things
you'd want to say to someone
if you knew you'd never see them again.
Why would you?
It's rare...
someone starts the day knowing it will be their last.
Alexander...
The last time I saw my daughter was at the cafe
next to Moscow train station.
She wanted me to stay and have tea...
...but I had a meeting.
Ministry of Defence.
I never imagined this would be our last moment together.
Ten more minutes was all she wanted.
What I would give for those ten minutes now.
Just for the chance to say goodbye properly.
To tell her how much I love her.
Hold her in my arms just one more time.
Just as I saw you holding on to Sofia.
What are you going to do?
I can't do anything.
It's too late for me.
When word of Sofia's defection spreads...
I assume that's what she's doing?
If they catch her, they will hunt you down.
If they don't catch her, they will hunt you down.
I like you, Alexander.
I think of you as a friend.
As do I you. In a manner of speaking.
They'll be watching the stations.
You may be hard to recognize, but...
Anna Urbanova?
It's a different matter.
It won't work.
Sofia's now an important asset of the state.
They will have someone watching you.
Gather all your belongings.
Don't forget anything.
By your feet, Anastasia.
Welcome to Paris, Sofia.
Wake up.
♪ The pendulum goes tick-tock, tick-tick ♪
♪ The birds of the lake do pick, pick, pick ♪
♪ "Glou, glou, glou," go all the turkeys ♪
♪ And the beautiful bell goes "ding, ding, dong" ♪
♪ But boom, when my heart goes boom ♪
♪ Everything with it does boom ♪
♪ And it's the love that has awakened ♪
♪ Everything has changed since yesterday ♪
♪ And the street has eyes that look out the windows ♪
♪ There is lilac in their outstretched hands ♪
♪ On the sea, the sun will come out ♪
♪ So boom, the luminary of the day goes boom ♪
♪ Everything with it says boom ♪
♪ When our heart does boom, boom... ♪
Sofia?
The director has asked me to pass on a message.
You will now playing the penultimate piece of the night.
But I was due to lead off the second half.
Now you're not. Is that a problem?
No, of course not.
I'll do whatever Director Tarkovsky wants me to.
Glad to hear it.
Good luck tonight.
♪ Everything has changed since yesterday ♪
♪ And the street has eyes that look out the windows ♪
♪ The lilac under the stars in your eyes ♪
♪ Will appear in the sky, so boom ♪
♪ The luminary that played our song ♪
♪ Everything with it says boom ♪
♪ And our heart does boom-boom... ♪
The concert will have started by now.
Sofia will be on stage.
Alexander, Anna, excuse me.
With the compliments of our guests.
It's a bottle of Mukuzani.
Oh, good Lord.
It's their anniversary,
and they wanted to thank you, Alexander.
Apparently, you gave them something to talk about
during their first-ever meal together,
and they haven't stopped since.
Thank you.
I assisted them in the choice of wine,
when that pest Leplevsky was trying to ruin it all
with a bottle of Rioja, of all things.
Oh, it could've all turned out so differently.
You mock me, but it could have.
Everything could've been so different.
♪ Ooh, it sings "Love in Bloom " ♪
♪ At the rhythm of this boom ♪
♪ Da, da, da, boom, boom... ♪
Would you do me the honor of one last dance?
♪ And the street has eyes that look out the windows ♪
♪ There is lilac in their outstretched hands on the sea ♪
♪ The sun will come out, so boom ♪
♪ The luminary of the day does boom ♪
♪ Everything with it says boom ♪
♪ When our heart does boom ♪
♪ Boom ♪
♪ When our hearts go boom ♪
♪ Everything with it does boom ♪
♪ And it's the love that has awakened ♪
♪ Boom, it sings "Love in Bloom" ♪
♪ At the rhythm of this boom ♪
♪ That again says boom to the ear... ♪
I bought the train tickets.
Did you manage to get the travel documents for us?
Two of our Finnish guests
obligingly left their passports at reception.
♪ So, boom ♪
♪ When our hearts go boom, everything... ♪
When I was sentenced to spend
the rest of my life in this hotel,
I didn't know that I would have
the happiest days of my life here,
nor did I expect that I would spend them
with someone I love as much as I love you.
You don't think we have much of a chance of escaping.
Do you?
No.
I never imagined my life would have a happy ending.
And yet, you have given me one...
regardless of what happens next.
You have been the greatest,
most surprising gift life could ever offer.
Thank God I found you.
♪ dark, somber music ♪
In here of all places.
Almost on this very spot.
You should go. There are things I need to do.
What time are you expecting the call?
10:30.
The last train is at eleven o'clock.
Don't wait for me.
Don't make me.
The passports were left with reception
so we could properly record our guests' details.
And they went missing two nights ago?
And we couldn't find them anywhere.
I've gone through all the drawers myself.
♪ slow, intriguing music ♪
Sofia?
You're on now.
Well done.
The final curtain call is after the Borodin string quartet.
- Yes, of course. - Alina? Fara?
Elisa? Paulina?
♪ dark, suspenseful music ♪
Close the door.
- Put it down. - Please.
Those old relics are about as effective as you are.
Station chief--
Put it down.
Unlock that cabinet.
Now.
Empty it on the desk. The files.
Get on with it.
♪ dark, eerie music ♪
Final curtain call.
Get ready for the final curtain call.
Forward!
♪ dark, somber music ♪
Sofia's missing. Search the building.
Come on. Please.
Master your circumstances or be mastered by them.
Sofia?
What are you going to do with me?
Can't just... leave me here.
Someone will come looking for you eventually.
They won't.
Please.
Please!
♪ tense, gloomy music ♪
Good evening. Metropol Hotel.
Of course, I'll arrange for a cab to the station
first thing in the morning.
All aboard!
All aboard for Helsinki!
You need to get on this train.
No, this isn't my train.
You can use this passport to get you into Finland.
Was he ever coming?
Not after I pointed out
the danger he'd place you in by doing so.
He wanted me to give you this.
Stalin may be gone, but we haven't stopped
punishing the families of our enemies.
Hey.
He wants you to be safe.
Just as I wanted my wife to be.
All aboard!
All aboard for Helsinki!
♪ stirring, melancholic music ♪
Good evening, Metropol Hotel.
Hello?
Metropol Hotel.
♪ sweeping, rousing music ♪
♪ gentle, melancholy music ♪
♪ soaring music ♪
I never saw my papa or Anna ever again.
♪ ethereal, dreamlike music ♪
I discovered that Papa had escaped the hotel.
But what happened after remains a mystery.
I like to imagine them both finally free,
living out the rest of their lives together.
♪ rousing, heartfelt music ♪
They gave me the greatest gift of life.
I'll keep them in my heart.
Always.