2. A Serious Man (2009)
A film about the hopelessness of trying to control life, the Coen Brothers take on the Book of Job is one of their funniest, most honest and personal films. Centering on a college professor who seems to find everything in his life going wrong for no reason. He looks for answers in his faith, but everything he finds seems to lead to the same conclusion: who knows why these things happen? A Serious Man is a great film because of how well it balances the Coens knack for dark humor with serious questions about why were here, what life means (if anything), and if theres any point in even wondering about all these things in the first place. Perhaps it got overlooked because it fell in between No Country for Old Men and True Grit, and wasnt as star driven or comical as Burn After Reading. But A Serious Man has a serious claim on being the Coens best film since Fargo, and thats saying a lot. If you havent seen it, watch it. If you have, watch it again; its a film that practically requires and rewards multiple viewings.