Fargo

Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard hires two criminals to kidnap his wife so her wealthy father will pay a ransom. The plan's escalating violence draws pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson into a patient investigation across the snowy region.

Frances McDormand's calm, observant Marge gives the dark comedy a conscience-bound center without simplifying its foolish, desperate characters. The Coens contrast flat winter landscapes, Carter Burwell's mournful score, regional speech, and sudden brutality.