Having systematically picked apart the critical arguments for and against Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” and the many possible meanings of that dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream caper, the film’s fans on the Web have gone a level deeper by focusing on its music.

In recent days a video created by a pseudonymous author, camiam321, comparing the Édith Piaf song “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” to Hans Zimmer’s score for the movie has been widely circulated on the Internet. The video plays a key musical cue from the “Inception” score — two ominous blares from a brass section — followed by a slowed-down version of the Piaf song (which the “Inception” characters play at regular speed as a warning to wake up from a dream state). They sound nearly identical.

Mr. Zimmer, a film composer and producer who won an Academy Award for his music for “The Lion King” and was nominated for “Rain Man” and “Gladiator,” said in a telephone interview that the sonic similarity was not only intentional but that it was also an element of an enigmatic film “that wasn’t supposed to be a secret.”

Speaking of the viral video Mr. Zimmer said: “I’ve seen it! I was surprised how long it took them to figure it out.”