In one of Larry's nightmares, he dreams that he's at a massive blackboard filling out the math for The Uncertainty Principle which he states the Principle, "...proves you can't ever really know what's going on." He goes on to tell the students in his dream that they are still responsible for the things they can't figure out. This dream, arguably, is the basis of the film, as it tells us that Larry, the protagonist, doesn't know why anything is happening in his life. And they are all things that he is responsible for: his marriage, his son, his brother. All of these events occur throughout the film to each character that seem absolutely absurd. And in the midst of this Larry seeks the counsel of his Jewish faith only to be rejected by the head Rabbi.
Ultimately, we learn that Rabbi Marshak doesn't seem to know how to counsel people in a way that satisfies Larry's need for help. The film ends with a tornado closing in on Larry's son while he's at school. Sy, Larry's wife's lover is dead, Larry is left penniless and without his wife and a $3,000 bill from his brother's lawyer.
The outcome of the film is similar to the opening of it where a Jewish couple welcomes a man into their home. The husband believes the old man has helped him on his journey. His wife believes the old man is an evil spirit who's been dead for three years and is bringing a curse upon their home. The wife stabs the old man with an ice pick. The man bleeds, but doesn't collapse. And he walks out of the house into a storm.
Who we believe people to be isn't always who they are. And our actions to stop bad things from coming upon us come from our beliefs about those people attempting harm. It is our choice to do harm in order to protect ourselves or not. Larry is a man who chooses to "do no harm" as best as he can all while he has been hit with attacks over and over again. And even when the storm seems to quiet. Another begins again.
This story is one that embraces the need for discussion. The ideas in it are too big to be solved, but they can be argued by those who see the film as Joel and Ethan Coen strike a cord, specifically in their Jewish culture about how life is to be lived. What's right or wrong? It's easy to know when it's being done to you, but how we respond has everything to do with what we can control, which is our commitment to character.
