«St. Matthew passion» in Pavel Lungin’s film «Conductor»

The article examines the impact of the Christian discourse and metropolitan Hilarion''s «St. Matthew Passion» oratorio on the course of events in the film « Conductor » by Pavel Lungin. The passion of Christ – part of St. Matthew’s gospel, Chapters 26 and 27, are read in churches every year on Easter’s eve. The music which sounds in the intervals between the reading of Gospel passages, is based on liturgies and Russian texts of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The events mentioned in the oratorio are reflected in the lives of the characters of the film, and affect the relationships between them. Committing themselves to sin, the characters of the film «compete» in passions, which only become exacerbated on the Holy land. Religious Christian discourse not only complicates the protagonists’ characters, but also explains the depth of their suffering.