Tugan Batyr is a smart, kind, and brave boy. Thanks to his big and kind heart, he was given the magical Ring Zikhgir, which contains the power to defeat the evil wizard Sarykan-as decreed by the wise wizard and teacher Alim Babai. Inquisitive and courageous, Tugan Batyr defends his homeland from the forces of evil, using not only strength and ingenuity but also magical artifacts, which, not by chance, he came into possession of.

In a small Tatar village during the traditional holiday of the beginning of plowing, monks appear accompanied by soldiers. Trying to convert the local population to Orthodoxy by force, the monks and soldiers meet a tough rebuff from the locals. The wife of the peasant Bulat dies, and his son Asfan is taken away in an unknown direction.

After several days of the offensive, the Red Army detachment settles down to rest. At a halt, the warrior Kuregen tells his comrades-in-arms the story of the feat of the legendary Kazakh batyr Tolagai, who sacrificed his life for the people's good a thousand years ago.

Tugan Sokhiev conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, featuring baritone Gary Magee. The program includes: Rachmaninoff’s cantata Spring; Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances; and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.

In Toulouse, Tugan Sokhiev conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with brio and finesse, performing works by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. A high-flying Slavic evening.