Volga-Volga 1938 (in flower)
Plot
The film revolves around two groups of amateur performers from the fictional provincial town of Melkovodsk, located somewhere in the Urals near the Chusovaya River, who are heading to Moscow for an amateur art competition called the "Moscow Musical Olympiad." Most of the film's scenes take place on three ships sailing down the Volga: the paddle steamer "Sevryuga," the sail-and-row vessel "Lesorub," and later, the motor ship "Joseph Stalin."
The film's main characters are a letter carrier nicknamed "Strelka" from an amateur folk music ensemble, and Alexei Trubyshkin, the director of a classical symphony orchestra. They are a couple in love, but their individualism and pride seem stronger than their romantic feelings. During a conversation on a broken-down ferry in the middle of the river, Alexey boasts to Strelka about his trumpet playing, and Strelka performs a song supposedly composed by her friend, a certain "letter carrier Dunya," and asks him to rate it. Alexey dislikes the song, and they quarrel, accusing each other of mediocrity.
The head of the small-scale handicraft industry department in the town of Melkovodsk, Ivan Ivanovich Byvalov, a bureaucrat and careerist dreaming of a job in Moscow, arrives on shore. Strelka was carrying a lightning telegram for him. The telegram has to be read out loud from the ferry in the middle of the river. But instead of the expected promotion and transfer to Moscow, the telegram contained an invitation to the Music Olympiad, currently underway in Moscow. Disappointed, Byvalov is convinced that backwater Melkovodsk lacks the talent needed to compete at such a high-level competition, so he declines. However, Strelka flatly refuses to send a reply, insisting that the town has an abundance of talent.
After this, she persuades the town's amateur performers to show off their talents to Byvalov. Dancers, accordionists, and spoon players appear from around every corner, and Trubyshkin's orchestra deafens him in the square. Even the policeman whom Byvalov turned to for help began to produce nightingale trills from his whistle instead of his usual whistle.
Alexei manages to find the right approach to Byvalov, offering to send his musicians under his "sensitive guidance" on the hastily repaired, dilapidated steamship "Sevryuga." Strelka's band is not allowed on board. But Strelka, unwilling to yield to Alexey, travels to the capital with her ensemble to present a song about the Volga (which she wrote herself, but told everyone it was "Dunya's song"). They take a detour: walking through the swamps with a guide, then rafting, and finally on the ancient sailing vessel "Lesorub." The sailing vessel overtakes Byvalov's steamship, which is falling apart, after which both vessels run aground due to the fault of an overconfident pilot.
On the way, Strelka and her friends learn a song about the Volga. The ensemble leaders inadvertently switch places, and both ensembles decide to perform Strelka's song about the Volga together at the Olympics. The musicians of the symphony orchestra write the melody on sheets of paper bearing Byvalov's name, but during a storm, the wind carries the sheets of paper across the river, and the song spreads to the people, immediately gaining resounding popularity.
Arriving in Moscow after their fame, the group hears the song they were preparing for the competition everywhere and realizes they have nothing left to perform with. Strelka's comrades accuse him of plagiarism. In Moscow, Byvalov is considered the song's author because of the name list. However, being deprived of any talent, he is forced to confess and organize a search for Dunya, as everyone believes she is the author. All the Dunyas from Melkovodsk are brought to the Olympics. They all showcase their talents: they sing and dance, but the author is not among them. Then Strelka makes peace with Alexey, admits to writing the song, and receives a well-deserved award at the Olympics.