[speeder]

I'm a major Coen bros. fan from the word "go", their dad was my student advisor in college and my dad invested in their first movie. (Blood Simple). "Fargo" is one of my all-time favorites.

That said, I didn't love this film. I was expecting to like it a lot more. It was of course very well-made and well-acted, but I don't think that it added anything to the big picture of American film, and that is how I judge anything other than popcorn fare these days. It was also so violent that it gave me a headache, and I have a pretty high tolerance for that stuff compared to a lot of people I know.

Javier Bardem was disturbing all right. I constantly had to remind myself while leaving the theatre that he is not like that at all in reality. He really creeped me out.

For a much better film of this genre, (IMO of course), see "A History of Violence" by Cronenberg. Much more satisfying and entertaining.