The Red Violin follows the journey of a violin over centuries after it is crafted in the 1600's by a grieving violin-maker who lost his wife while she was giving birth. The violin passes from the hands of a young prodigy in the 18th century Vienna to a decadent virtuoso in England and a century later, to China, during the Cultural Revolution. Its final resting place is at an auction in modern day Montreal, Quebec, where it captures the attention of a musical expert, who would like to make it his own.