Only the Coen brothers would think to turn the lyrics of Jefferson Airplane's summer-of-love song, "Somebody to Love," into a religious metaphor for an Orthodox Jewish man seeking to understand his perplexing Hashem, or God. As we have our first encounter with the serious man in question, Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), we hear a line from the song that captures his search for meaning: "When the truth is found to be lies, and all the joy within you dies."

In an uncharacteristic move, the Coens cast a relatively unknown actor as Larry, creating a true image of an average, well-intentioned husband and father of two. He works enthusiastically as a physics professor, sends his son to Hebrew school and keeps his family well-respected in the Jewish community. But when his wife decides she wants a divorce, his student attempts to bribe and sue him, his brother is arrested and his tenure comes into question all in a matter of days, Larry begins to lose his understanding of Hashem's purpose and desperately seeks spiritual answers.

Larry finds few of those answers as he deals with problem after problem, but refreshingly, the script never resorts to the Woody Allen stereotype of the cynical Jewish man who kvetches his way through life. Larry deals with his injustice humbly and submissively, always seeking the good of others yet finding none for himself. At first, his character seems weak, but the way he deals with his brother Arthur, whose lack of friends and finances have made him a permanent house guest, proves otherwise. The film uses Arthur to demonstrate Larry's patience, rather than exploiting him for cheap laughs.

Larry's moral character overshadows Judaism and organized religion as the film's focus. In fact, Judaism provides the story's form, but the real meat of Larry's doubt lies in broad questions about God's existence and the conduct of our earthly lives. Larry, a modern-day Job, stands on his roof and looks out over his neighborhood, appearing to be questioning his entire reality, while Carter Burwell's ominous score further darkens the soul-searching scene.

Although darkness completely pervades this comedy, the laughs are surprisingly frequent. The nonchalant attitude of everyone who wrongs Larry seems so ludicrous and, at the same time, so real. He is expected to accept all this trouble and no spiritual answers to justify it. Keeping with the tone of the piece, the Coens don't mock religion, but they do laugh at the assumption that God or fate can correspond to our systems of rewarded behavior.

Like many spiritual beliefs themselves, the film — with its ambiguous nature and abrupt ending — provides no real answers, only a multitude of hints pointing in different directions. It's also one of the best films of the year. Every scene entertains, teasing our unfulfilled hopes. We don't know whether to despair or burst out laughing.