This short video-essay examines various themes present in the work of the Coen brothers. While other essays have assembled several recurring visual tropes: elevators, dogs, dream sequences, bathrooms etc., this essay has the characters talk to one another across the films so we can more clearly hear the Coens’ dominant concerns: identity, materialism, miscommunication, morality and philosophy. Taken as a set, these elements indicate that the Coens’ true subject is the search for value in a random and amoral universe.
The essay is part of a series I am uploading for education purposes and as such, is protected by the Fair Use part of the copyright law of the United States.
