The Red Violin offers not only a message of the universality of the language of music but the secret of the red violin's color exemplifies the level of commitment that true musical devotion demands. The film takes its audience on a journey spanning five countries and three centuries, into five principal lives, each telling a story of hope and greed. The Red Violin embodies our mortality and immortality simultaneously; we search to create something that lives beyond us so we will live our life beyond mortal life. .
Not only does The Red Violin exemplify the communal spirit of music in that it is timeless and unrestrained by race, language, or geographical boundaries, but lends inspiration and a reason to create music. The film and incredible score (performed by Joshua Bell) inspired my own playing; I took from it the importance of music in life, especially as the Red Violin passed to communist Shanghai where all things Western, including music, were banned. Xiang Pei receives the violin and is torn between her duty as a Party Official and her love for the instrument. Music is not only entertainment but a communication and an experience, and this film especially showed me the importance of playing with my heart and lending parts of myself and my emotions to the notes. .
Our immortal legacy is how we live our lives and the way we treat others because that is how we will be remembered, forgotten, or despised. As the Red Violin passed through five lives, impacting each tremendously, each of us passes through the lives of countless people, and we can only hope that our impact on their lives is positive.