The Coen Bros might as well be the Mario Bros because of how cartoonish some of their films are. Take as an example Raising Arizona. The action sequences were almost straight out of a cartoon (Yes, I know Mario was from a video game and all, but it's still a cartoon kinda thing). This isn't to say that all of the Coen Bros films were this way. No Country for Old Men is definitely not what I would call a cartoon. It is far to glum, and the violence is far too realistic for it to be a cartoon.
Another major aspect of Coen Bros films is that they always seem to revolve around money and the law. All of the films we watched in class have someone in the movie trying to get money, generally through an illegal action (robbing a bank, dealing drugs). There is always something to do with the law and its enforcement in their movies as well. Either the protagonist is an officer, or a criminal, or the antagonist is a criminal. Either way, there is an overarching feeling of the law in their films. Even if the protagonist is a criminal (Raising Arizona), he does not feel like a true criminal, and it's very easy to take his side.
I thoroughly enjoyed this Coen Brose unit. I think I'd go as far as to say that it was my favorite unit thus far. Now hopefully the Nair unit can follow it up pretty well.
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