The protagonists (Elias, Peter and Elsbeth) face hardship and fate which they cannot understand nor prevent.

A chorale which Bach set to conclude his cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, which uses the same image, plays a role in the story.

When the boys are twelve years old, Peter, who is abused by his father, sets fire to his parents' farm on Christmas Day.

Peter is jealous and arranges a marriage of Elsbeth and Lukas, the son of a wealthy farmer.

There, Elias plays an improvisation on the chorale "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder" from Bach's cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, fascinating all listeners.

In 1995, Joseph Vilsmaier directed a film Schlafes Bruder (Brother of Sleep), with André Eisermann [de] as Elias, Ben Becker as Peter, and Dana Vávrová as Elsbeth.

"[1] In 1994/95, Herbert Willi composed an opera Schlafes Bruder on a libretto by Robert Schneider, on a commission by the Opernhaus Zürich to celebrate 1000 Jahre Österreich.