Eldar Ryazanov. Forgotten Melody for Flute

Leonid Filimonov is a high-ranking official from the Main Directorate of Free Time, where he oversees the work of amateur and semi-professional folk groups. At meetings, whenever he has a free minute, Filimonov imagines himself standing up and telling the whole truth to his boss, a representative of the "old school," but he never does.

A musician by education, from a modest family, he married the daughter of a prominent statesman, Elena, raised a daughter with her, abandoned music, and made a career under the wing of his influential father-in-law. He lives in a luxurious apartment furnished with imported furniture, drives the latest model Moskvich, constantly travels abroad, and his table groans with scarce delicacies.

Everything changes after meeting Lida, a nurse who works in the medical center of the free time department. Lida is sincere, courageous, and creative: she acts in an amateur theater, does not fawn over Filimonov, and conducts herself with the dignity of a free, albeit modest, person. Filimonov suffers a heart attack and is taken to the infirmary. Lida then comes to his home to give him an injection, while his wife Elena is away.

Charmed, Filimonov begins courting her. Love takes him back to his days as a promising musician. Lida gives in, discovering in Filimonov an intelligence, kindness, and vulnerability that would be hard to suspect.

One day, his wife returns unexpectedly early and finds Filimonov in the apartment with a nurse. He is playing the flute for her, and she is dancing. His wife suspects him of infidelity, but he makes excuses, which offends Lida. She wants him to stop lying and leave her.

After confirming that her husband is indeed having an affair, Elena kicks him out of the house, and he comes to Lida, claiming he left on his own. Lida, tired of his lies, refuses to believe him and only lets him temporarily live in the corner of her room in the communal apartment, behind the closet. Gradually, he manages to regain Lida's favor, and their cohabitation ceases to be neighborly.

But the break with the daughter of an influential father jeopardizes his promotion - and he has already been promised the position of head of the department. By this time, Elena Filimonova, having cooled down and realizing that she is left alone, asks her husband to return to her; she returns his car and apartment keys. She agrees to forget everything. Moreover, Elena has not yet told her father about their separation.

Filimonov succumbs to the persuasion of his wife and colleagues and cowardly runs away from Lida, without even explaining himself. An insulted Lida resigns from the Directorate.

On her last day at work, Filimonov assumes his new position as Director. His colleagues are delighted; even his former boss fawns over Leonid. Looking out the window at Lida leaving the Directorate, Filimonov briefly imagines how wonderful it would be to resign, tell his subordinates everything he thinks about his senseless Directorate, return to Lida, and win her forgiveness. However, this is just a fantasy again, and Filimonov begins his first speech at the weekly meeting as Director.

At that moment, he suffers another heart attack. An ambulance is called. Feeling like he's about to lose consciousness, Filimonov calls for Lida. The arriving medical team begins resuscitating Filimonov; he experiences clinical death, and his soul is carried away to the afterlife, where people await the Supreme Court. He meets his parents, who chide him for not having visited their grave in a while. Meanwhile, Lida, seeing the ambulance rushing toward the office and realizing Filimonov's heart condition is failing again, runs into the office and, even though the doctors are about to pronounce him dead, throws herself on Filimonov's body, begging him not to die. Suddenly, Filimonov begins breathing, the doctors continue CPR, and Lida simply leaves.