The first big hit by the directing duo Joel and Ethan Coen really heralded the somewhat different kind of filmmaking. Further films like No Country For Old Men, A Serious Man or True Grit followed and finally established the Coen Brothers as masters of their craft. Fargo contains all the elements that their style stands for: unorthodox violence, the discreet incorporation of comedic aspects and a plot that seems very simple at first glance, but which brings much more meaning and hidden social criticism after watching the film several times.

Besides the Coen Brothers, the film was also the big breakthrough of acting icon Frances McDormand. Her character Marge Gunderson does not appear as often as one would expect from the "main character". When she is seen, she delights with her amiable nature, which is topped off by her stubborn naivety and belief in the good. McDormand also masters the Minnesota accent perfectly, which only makes her character more likeable and refreshing. She is never really aware of the gravity of the situation at any point and is constantly miles off the mark as the police officer in charge of the occurring crime. William H. Macy's slightly crazy character Jerry Lundegaard is the centre of the film at the beginning. The main action starts from him and he is pretty much the opposite of Marge: he always knows what is going on and is shady without end. Although he has no real evil intentions, pretty much all of his plans go awry, leaving him constantly on the run and always quick to lose his cool. Macy plays big and makes this shambles of a man weirdly likeable. Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare are responsible for the more brutal moments as the crooks and are hilarious in their scenes together because of the difference of their characters.

It is not for nothing that a television series of the same name was developed based on Fargo. The peculiarity of this film still has a cult following for many. Also beautiful to look at is the completely snowed-in Minnesota and the cast covered in fur coats. The performances by McDormand, Macy and Buscemi of course help the plot, which is a little dull towards the middle, enormously. It picks up towards the end without offering a big showdown or explosive finale. Fargo is generally a rather quietly constructed film that uses its violent scenes very selectively. What is so impressive is the socio-critical factor behind it. There is a clear demarcation between good and bad people. The Coen Brothers are not above depicting this in sometimes very subtle but also extreme ways. Fargo is rightly an important part of film history that should be watched alone for the fact that the Coen Brothers really took off with it.