The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities.

An artist is plagued by nightmares of a love triangle and murder. A psychic says the dream figure is his brother, a "troubled soul" from an ancient past life. Nearly born as his twin but miscarried, this past life rival now breaks through in nightmares in attempt to repeat history.

An artist grows distant from his new wife as an irrational fear of premature burial consumes him.

After suffering terrible headaches and stomach cramps, Mr. Lăzărescu, a lonely 63 year-old man, calls for an ambulance, beginning one man’s hellish journey through Bucharest hospitals in search of proper medical care. As the night unfolds, his health starts to deteriorate fast.

John Sharon, a steel magnate is immensely successful from the worldly point of view, while Ed Young, his humble employee, views himself as a failure because his income shrinks as his family responsibilities increase. Sharon's only son is a drunken disappointment, his wife becomes alienated from him, and his daughter falls critically ill.