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Joel and Ethan Coen, who commonly alternate credits for directing and producing their films, are responsible for some of the most uniquely written and unusually presented movies of today. Their vision is so similar that George Clooney once commented that you can ask the same question to each brother and can guarantee that you will get the same answer from both. Such a oneness of vision has created worlds so integrated and absorbing that it is no wonder many of their films have generated cult followings.

Born in Minnesota in the 1950's, the brothers owe much of their filmic influence to the genres of screwball comedies, westerns and film noir, though their own movies are quite harder to categorize. Here are some of my favorites and an overview of their influence on moviegoers and the film world:

*O Brother Where Art Thou -
To start off with, a general summary of the film would detail it as a retelling of Homer's Odyssey through the characters of an Depression era escaped chain gang to the soundtrack of old time Appalachian music. This in itself characterizes it as being different from any other film. Add to that the Coen brothers' flair for great dialogue. Take this scene between the three main characters - Ulysses, Pete, and Delmar - after Pete and Delmar are baptized:

Pete: The Preacher said it absolved us.
Ulysses: For him, not for the law. I'm surprised at you, Pete, I gave you credit for more brains than Delmar.
Delmar: But they was witnesses that seen us redeemed.
Ulysses: That's not the issue, Delmar. Even if that did put you square with the Lord, the State of Mississippi's a little more hard-nosed.

The film can also be cited for its color-washed atmosphere, executed in a successful attempt to evoke the dust bowl.

*Fargo -
The Coen brothers' films are also well-known for their depiction of life in small-town America. Fargo is one of the most famous examples of that. It was advertised as a "homespun murder story" quite simply because of the smalltown characters who enhance the Minnesota and North Dakota landscapes of snow. That the film won the Coen brothers an Oscar for Best Writing (and a Best Actress win for Frances McDormand) testifies to the movie's appeal.

Fargo can be used also as an example of the violence that a lot of the Coen brothers films employ, particularly in one graphic scene involving a wood chipper.

*The Big Lebowski -
A favorite among Coen fans, the movie centers around a slacker bowler who is mistaken for a corrupt millionaire. The film is a good example of their film noir and borrows a bit of its essence from Raymond Chandler. A lot of the dialogue and the meandering storyline and camera angles merit multiple views.

The brothers also owe their success to the people they surround themselves with in their work, including actors like John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Frances McDormand, John Goodman, and George Clooney, as well as cinematographers cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld and Roger A. Deakins.

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