Total Balalaika Show

A film about the outdoor concert in June 1993 by Leningrad Cowboys and The Alexandrov Red Army Choir and Ballet held at the Senate Square, central Helsinki. In the beginning there was an idea - a joke - an incredible one. To have a Finnish rock´n roll group ("the worst in the world" according to the proud formulation in Aki Kaurismäki´s introduction to their art, Leningrad Cowboys Go America) perform together with one of the most famous and magnificent choruses in the world, the Red Army Ensamble? " In two words", as Oliver Hardy said, "impossible"! This meeting involving two nations that were at war half a century ago and then endured an uneasy friendship, "peaceful coexistence"; although totally out of the reach of perverted officiality, on the level of a dream it seemed worthwhile. All this was suddenly something very poignant, very serious - and tremendously funny. More than 70.000 people crowded into the scene, the wonderful old Empire style city square of Helsinki. There were two nations and more kinds of music, fused together into an unforgettable whole. The message was there, regardless of how you experienced it, or where you were while hearing about the event. It was simply larger than life.