B-flat minor, 2/2 time. It is structured in a condensed sonata form, incorporating a wide variety of materials. Soviet musicologist Blok likens the bustling interplay of various themes in this movement to "crowd scenes in Prokofiev's ballets, such as the folk dances in Romeo and Juliet or the market scene in The Tale of the Stone Flower."

The opening key of B-flat minor carries over from the final B-flat note of the slow movement. The first theme begins with a suspicious low register, while simultaneously being accompanied by an out-of-tune fanfare that seems to recreate the mood of the first movement. The second theme begins in a simple C major but shifts through various keys, making it somewhat elusive. These two themes are repeated, leading into the development section. After the development section, a peculiar transitional passage based on a B minor scale leads into the coda. A bouncy, gavotte-like rhythm gradually accelerates, themes appear fragmentarily, and the piece concludes festively.