Summary
The film opens inside an opera house, where a crowd can be heard cheering outside. Two security guards struggle to hold the doors closed, but eventually the crowd bursts through, scrambling to reach their seats. They scurry past posters advertising the Ballet Lermontov, whose production of the fictional ballet Heart of Fire they are about to watch. A subtitle announces that forty-five minutes have passed, and the crowd settles into their seats as the orchestra starts playing. Ballerinas are seen warming up backstage, and a group of music students look around the opera hall for their professor. Several audience members discuss how talented the ballerinas are, and everyone buzzes with excitement.
A music student named Julian is present in the audience. The ballet is performed by the immensely popular Ballet Lermontov, a company with international renown, helmed by Boris Lermontov, by all accounts an artistic genius. Julian's teacher, Professor Palmer, has written the score for the ballet. Just before the show begins, the crowd cheers Palmer's name, applauding him vigorously. As he watches the performance, Julian realizes that the professor has stolen some of the music from his own compositions. The beautiful music—Julian's beautiful music—is well-received by the excited crowd, angering Julian even further.
A young woman with fire-red hair watches the performance, as a series of eyeline-match shots indicate her fixation on the prima ballerina performing. The woman is Victoria "Vicky" Page, our protagonist. After the show ends, Julian leaves, indignant, while Professor Palmer meets with Boris Lermontov at an after-party hosted by Lady Neston, an aristocratic woman who happens to be Vicky's aunt. She tells Lermontov that Vicky wants to dance for his company. Lady Neston suggests that Lermontov should meet her niece, an invitation that he declines somewhat impolitely, citing a belief that ballet should only be performed under incredibly specific conditions, and that such a party does not befit a dance performance.
Later, Lermontov meets a young woman with striking red hair at the party, and complains to her about Lady Neston's request, lamenting her vexing demands. Little does Lermontov know that the woman is actually Vicky, Lady Neston's niece—but, in a classic instance of dramatic irony, the audience is well aware. Quickly, he realizes his faux pas. Embarrassed, Lermontov decides to give the woman a chance, asking her why she wants to dance. She cleverly responds: "Why do you want to live?", and claims that she dances for the same reason that everyone else lives. An unwavering dedicate to art himself, Lermontov is impressed by Vicky's passion. He agrees to let her rehearse with his company.
The next morning, Lermontov is in his suite, eating an exquisitely ornate breakfast. Julian arrives and asks to speak to Lermontov. He explains that the night before, he had written to Lermontov, explaining that Heart of Fire was plagiarized from his own work. However, he quickly regretted sending the letter, explaining that his frantic arrival at Lermontov's suite was an attempt to retrieve it. Desperate to intercept the letter before Lermontov can read it, a disappointed Julian arrived only to find that the letter had already been read. A somewhat sympathetic Lermontov asks Julian to play him a piano composition; his playing reveals his true ownership over Heart of Fire. Lermontov is impressed once again, and invites Julian to work for the Ballet Lermontov.
Julian and Vicky begin their new jobs the same day. Julian arrives at the Ballet Lermontov, and comments to a dancer who leads him inside that, despite being a composer, he knows very little about ballet. She points him over to the stage, and he enters somewhat nervously. The stage is a scene of chaos: ballerinas warm up, mothers sit around knitting, and set designers paint pieces and move props. Vicky arrives at the stage and meets Grischa Ljubov, the choreographer. Ljubov sends Vicky to the corner of the stage, to warm up with the other girls who Lermontov has recently invited to rehearse with the company. Vicky claims to be personal acquaintances with Lermontov, but when he walks onstage to begin the rehearsal, he ignores her. She is told to go wait with "the others," as Lermontov announces Julian's entrance. The rehearsal progresses; Vicky and Julian both impress the company with their talent and prove their right to stay.
Right after the company's tour kicks off, Irina Boronskaja, the company's prima ballerina, gets engaged. All the dancers gather around to congratulate her, celebrating and cheering. Irina looks around for Lermontov, eager to hear his congratulations as well. She eventually pulls back a curtain to find him lurking unhappily in the wings. Lermontov is angered by her apparent lack of dedication and responds angrily, dismissing her from the company—he believes that there can only be room in one's life for dance or romance, but certainly not both. Following Irina's dismissal, Vicky ascends the company ranks.
Analysis
This early section of the film immediately establishes Lermontov's intense dedication to dance, and his overbearing need for creative control. As early as the after-party, we see him exercising exacting control over the conditions under which he believes dance should be performed, and his initial reluctance to watch Vicky dance underscores his stubborn need to control every aspect of the art that he so loves. At this point in the film, however, his intensity appears wholly justified: audiences clamor to watch the Ballet Lermontov perform, leading the viewer to assume that Lermontov's need for creative control may just be one of the quirks that render him an artistic genius.
The creative control that Lermontov exercises at this point in the movie is mostly benevolent: he effectively manages the chaos of a large rehearsal, hires the best talent, and is universally respected by his company. The darker, more unsavory aspects of his character are yet to be revealed, although a competitive air is beginning to be detectable throughout his company. Vicky's poor treatment at this first rehearsal indicates the cutthroat nature of professional ballet, and foreshadows the trying times that are ahead of her, even as she demonstrates her talent.
Lermontov's intensity escalates when Irina becomes engaged: already, we see how demanding he is of his dancers, and how unforgiving he can be when they renege on their obligations to the company or even pursue any semblance of a life outside it. Although Irina's engagement should be a happy moment, it makes Lermontov sullen, leading him to sulk and to make her the target of his anger. His response is revealing: he is shown to believe that his dancers are insufficiently dedicated to ballet if they give any consideration to any other aspect of life, including the romantic milestones that are commonly considered an essential part of the human experience. In this scene, his priorities become extremely clear: Lermontov desires dancers who will be fully beholden to him, and he acts betrayed and vitriolic when they indicate that other areas of their life might bear equal importance.
This moment is interwoven with some heavy foreshadowing of Vicky and Julian's forthcoming friendship and eventual romance: the two arrive at the company on the same day, and are immediately positioned in relation to one another. Their shining young talents complement one another perfectly, demonstrating how, contrary to Lermontov's beliefs, the two might be able to support each other both artistically and personally. At this point in the film, we are already aware of both Julian and Vicky's impressive ambition, signaled by each of their early interactions with Lermontov. While this ambition could prove beneficial to his ballet company if he harnesses it correctly, it could also be disastrous: Lermontov could find his need for creative control jeopardized by these two potential upstarts.
Interestingly, the beginning of the film also foreshadows Julian's eventual dark turn. Although throughout most of the film he represents some much-needed work-life balance in Vicky's life, by the end, he becomes as possessive as Lermontov, growing angry with Vicky when he senses any wavering in her commitment to their relationship. His capacity for such feelings is demonstrated in this early section of the film, when Professor Palmer steals his music: his anger, urgent need to tell Lermontov, and frantic impulse to take back his letter all demonstrate the range of intense and quickly-changing feelings that his passion for art can elicit, and hint at the darker, more possessive elements of his persona that will emerge as the film progresses.
