"Fargo" was the breakthrough of the Coen brothers to a big audience. In my opinion it is still their best film, although "No country for old men" (2007) is their most popular film nowadays.

In "Fargo" there are no master criminals and an even smarter detective. To the contrary. The criminals are rather amateurish and the crime gets out of hand rather quickly. In this way "Fargo" combines crime with comedy.

It is therefore not accidental that the Coen brothers made a remake of "The ladykillers" in 2004. This film was no success. In the first place the crime element of this film is very subordinate to the comedy element. In the second place the original by Alexander Mackendrick (1955) was very hard to surpass.

Another film with rather unprofessional criminals and a crime that gets out of hand is "In cold blood" (1967, Richard Brooks). This film doesn't have a comedy element whatsoever. What it does have in common with "Fargo" is a lot of violence. The violence in "Fargo" is however of such a caricatural and cartoon like nature that it somehow doesn't disturb.

"Fargo" is situated in the Mid North of the United States. The native region of the Coen brothers, but also the residence of a minority from Scandinavia. One can see this from names like Lundegaard, Gunderson and Grimsrud but also from there melodious English (Swedish is a very melodious language). Maybe even there hidden, indirect way of communicating can be traced back to their origin. When her collegue has said something stupid detective Marge Gunderson (Francis McDormand) says: "I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou.".

The quote above already indicates that not only are the criminals amateurish, also the police is all but glamorous. This is further emphasized by Marge Gunderson being heavily pregnant and wobbling through the movie. Also awkwardly holding a cup of coffee in thick mittens (it is winter and there is a lot of snow) doesn't look very sharp. But don't be fooled, Marge may seem a little sheepish at first, her conclusions are sometimes razorsharp. She is almost a female detective Columbo (Peter Falk).