this second movement is the slow movement in sonata form. it is written in a-flat major, the subdominant to e-flat. elegant, full of moonlight, and plenty of cadenza-like moments for everyone, it sounds just like a serenade to me.
it starts, like the first movement, with a simple arpeggio, but this time turned on its head, coming from the cello, from the bottom up. before long it settles into a comfortable flow, and a lot of the little figures from the violin sound to me like they could be unmeasured - simple ornamentation over the bed of the viola and cello.
at around 1:30 there is a modulation into the dominant, e-flat. the second theme is a series of modulating arpeggios and is basically an extended cadenza for the violin. the exposition ends in e-flat.
2:57 development, on the opening figure (the ascending arpeggio), then diminished chords over the pedal C in the cello. this development, too, is extremely short. recap at about 4:08. the recap is basically the same but for a few extra ornamentations in the cello part. mozart begins redeveloping almost immediately, ensuring that the rest of the recap falls into place in the key of a-flat. sometimes he takes the time to stop and smell the roses, adding an extra half bar or so here and there with moments of repose.
7:19 is a bit of a coda, spearheaded for the first time by the viola. there is a surprise fully diminished chord, and this gives the final chords a greater sense of satisfaction at the end of the movement.
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