3. Larry Gopnik - A Serious Man
Why He's Awesome: Larry Gopnick (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a family man who works hard as a lecturer at his University, simply trying to chip away and be a good Jew. He's built a life for himself and his family, and seems like a pretty cool, regular guy.
How He Got Shafted: Bad things start to avalanche their way onto Larry, and as such he begins to question his faith; his wife leaves him, he's accused of being unethical at work, and finally, a grim medical diagnosis arrives as a tornado rolls into town. The irony is that Larry only begins to question his faith when bad things start to happen, and his wavering fidelity only seems to make things even worse - the point being that you shouldn't try to understand religion on a higher level, and that sometimes bad things just happen for no good reason. Poor Larry.