20 Great Movies Since 2000 That You Forgot Existed

19. A Serious Man (2009)

A Serious Man is - generally speaking - probably one of the Coen Brothers' least accessible pictures. That's not to say that the movie is a nightmare to sit through, but that its power seems to reside in a viewer's willingness to watch it at least twice (or three times). It's also the Coens at their most personal - a loose cinematic adaptation of the Book of Job. Which, we admit, might not sound like everyone's cup of tea. Ever if you're a big fan of the Coens, chances are that you still forgot that this movie existed - unlike pictures such as No Country For Old Men and True Grit, both of which have already earned their statuses as "modern classics," A Serious Man has garnered a reputation for being difficult, which isn't exactly unfair in terms of criticisms to be aimed as this movie. In this case, though, "difficult" certainly translates as "more interesting." Even if you find A Serious Man kind of alienating on a narrative level, the performances from Michael Stuhlbarg and Richard Kind are more than enough of a reason to go back. Also: the elusive ending - which makes perfect use of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love" - will have you scratching your head for days.