The film, The Lives of Others (2006) takes us into the dreary, loveless existence of an East German Stasi officer as he follows orders to spy on a couple who the State deems dangerous dissidents. They are artists, to whom beauty has revealed that life consists of more than duty and that to be just law must nurture human flourishing not suppress creativity and true community. So the officer begins his grim task, but as he listens in the music and conversations he overhears begin to awaken something deep within his soul. The beauty of art is shown to be not neutral but a powerful expression of grace.

This video, simpler yet equally moving shows an old man in a nursing home, unresponsive and uncommunicative. Until the staff decide to use an iPod to let him hear “his” music.