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The Coen Brothers’ follow-up to their Oscar-winning NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN is a quirky spy spoof that mixes the genre satire of FARGO with the dark whimsy of their films like O’ BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? Secret CIA documents. Plastic surgery. Alcoholics. Adultery. Sexaholics. Are the elements of the plot random events or building to something bigger? What’s being constructed in the basement? Who is following me in that car? Did the Russians kill my friend? We watch to find out the answers and along the way laugh out loud.

Osborne Cox (John Malkovich, DANGEROUS LIASONS) is a mid-level CIA analyst who is demoted due to his drinking problem. Offended by the implication, he quits to write his tell-all memoir. His wife Katie (Tilda Swinton, MICHAEL CLAYTON) doesn’t like this at all. She’s been finished with Osborne for quite some time, sleeping with Treasury employee Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney, OCEAN’S ELEVEN), who uses dating services to cheat on his wife. One day, Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt, SEVEN), a clueless personal trainer, comes across a disk with CIA “stuff” on it. Discovering it was created by Osborne, he and his co-worker Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand, BLOOD SIMPLE) devise a hair-brained plan to blackmail the former agent. Linda wants to use the money on four cosmetic surgeries she believes she needs. Their manager Ted (Richard Jenkins, THE VISITOR) thinks its all a bad idea and believes Linda looks great just they way she is. As the plot boils, the various players will cross paths in various ways. Left to sort it all out is a CIA supervisor (J.K. Simmons, JUNO).

Spy flicks add plot pieces one on top of each other, building to the point when the complete picture becomes clear. BURN AFTER READING has devious fun with that. Where some hints or asides lead are often quite unexpected… and hilarious. When the bumbling meet with the bitter, the combination can be sheer lunacy. This is so clear in Chad and Linda’s pitiful attempts at extortion. Stupidity can be a weapon of mass destruction.

Clooney gives the most natural performance from his work with the Coens, who like to tap into his screwball qualities. Pitt gets big laughs for his iPod dancing nimrod, who gets into stuff way over his IQ score. McDormand is his equal, giving Linda a blinders-on optimism that is sweet and silly in equal measures. We get pleasure in seeing just how deep they get themselves into. With a droll wit, Malkovich makes Cox a disgruntled man who’s ruled by petty desires for revenge against the morons who have ruined his life. Jenkins adds a dash of lost-puppy-dog charm to the mix, which only highlights Linda’s humorous obliviousness.

Built on a foundation of irony, the Coens construct a satire that works on the soul of the spy flick. They take everything that “means” something and turn it upside down. All the pieces don’t hit the mark with the same impact, but the overall idea is a bit inspired. The fan who really knows their spy flicks will find so much enjoyment in all the sly satire at the core of the plot. But this doesn’t diminish the joy of watching the zany antics of the insiders and the idiots. The funniest part is that only the audience sees the whole picture; the survivors are just left wondering, “What does it all mean?”