A Serious Man

The new film directed by Ethan and Joel Coen will both baffle and confuse. A Serious Man is a serious film, one that starts with a prologue performed in Yiddish that unfolds nearly a century before the main story. In this short sequence the concept of a dybbuk is introduced. I asked a couple of acquaintances who grew up Jewish if they knew what a dybbuk is and they didn't, which doesn't actually mean much in regards to enjoying the film. The Coen Brothers also make up a word, a mentaculus, or a book that explains everything in the universe as scribbled by supporting character Uncle Arthur.
A Serious Man takes place in a predominately Jewish neighborhood in the 1960s in Minneapolis, coincidentally where the Coens also grew up. Some scenes in Fargo also took place there. A Serious Man offers humor but it's not laugh out loud like, say, The Big Lebowski. There are brief moments of violence like a car crash or a crescendo of dream sequences that end with abrupt jolts but nothing on the scale of No Country For Old Men. The Coens seem to prefer intellectual themes rather than action dominated sequences, a move that will win them new respect among a certain set that aims for high standards in movie ambiguity. If you complained because you thought NCFOM had too subjective an ending you'll be left stunned at the end of A Serious Man.
Do you want me to tell you what the plot is? The last thing you want to do is to go into a Coen Brothers film knowing what happens. You won't recognize any of the actors (unless you frequent Broadway) and the twists require exercise lest you injure yourself watching.