Fargo is far different than anything else the Coen brothers have done. In fact, it doesn’t even look Coen until you look close. Darker, deeper and much more serious than their usual work, Fargo is the Coen’s attempt to tell a straightforward story. And they succeed.

The Coen touch is certainly there though. These characters are as fun as ever. Up in the snowy plains of Minnesota we meet Jerry Lundegaard, played wonderfully by William H. Macy, a family man who has ran into some “personal” trouble and needs a load of cash quick. He hires two thugs, Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Peter Stormare), to kidnap his wife for ransom, which he hopes will be paid by his rich father-in-law (Harvey Presnell).

Instead of a smooth kidnapping, however, problems arise which result in chaos and killings. The local Police Chief, pregnant Marge Gunderson (Francis McDormand), is called onto the scene to investigate the murders. From this point, everything plays out in a relatively routine fashion. What’s fascinating about the story is the characters.

Carl and Gaear are completely without a conscience of any sort and go about their business rather matter-of-factly. Killing when they need to, doing whatever they need to do to get what they want. Jerry is even more interesting as the regular working man whose desperation leads him to extreme ends and foolish decisions.

But the screen is fully lit only when Francis McDormand is in the shot. Possibly the funniest police officer in film history, Marge is a middle aged pregnant lady who calmly, coolly goes about her work. Marge is the classic relief society president – out investigating murders. Waiting to go out to investigate the triple homicide until she’s had her morning breakfast, Marge’s simple, honest ways single handedly see through Jerry’s nervous twitching and the killer’s hiding. Never taking herself seriously while always taking her work seriously, Marge’s straightforwardness foil’s the mischievousness of the others on a grand scale.

Oh, it’s a joy to watch her work. Make her the star of NYPD Blue and I’ll never miss and episode. The icing on the cake is her motherly advice to the bad guys in the end. This character is a classic, and McDormand plays her perfectly.

It’s really interesting, as dark and somber as the tone of this film is, it never sinks in when Marge is around. I never felt anxious the way I would have in similar situations with regular characters. It’s almost as if her mere presence in the film is an assurance that everything is going to be OK. That’s good filmmaking.

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