Fargo was well-written and conceptualized. Possibly the Coens' best work.

The fearless and razor-sharp Frances McDormand deserves her award win and more.

A male lead would have totally skewed the story.

Only a female lead, who's pregnant, who is SO naturally portrayed, could make the story work.

Overall, Fargo is engaging, suspenseful. There's some in-ya-face gore, though not of snuff film quantity like those featured in No Country For Sadistic Old Men.

My rating = 9 merit stars - 2 pointless-gore stars = 7 stars.

Hollywood continues to treat such strong female lead as a detour from the male lead "norm". Almost 20 years later, we still don't have enough female-lead driven stories.

FEMALE-LEAD DRIVEN stories. Not women-oriented stories.

Fargo remains highly relevant today. Not only because it is a superbly told story, but because strong non-cliché female lead like this remains one in a hundred good films even today.

But all hope is not lost...

Swedish theaters now goes beyond PG or age limit ratings, and will include women-friendly rating system.

Perhaps IMDb should move faster and adapt or end up looking dated and jaded?