Babel ignites questions. A lot of questions. The scope of a film that crosses cultures, boundaries and values also finds a way -- maybe too conveniently -- to tie the loose ends together neatly. Not necessarily peacefully, but mostly neatly. But the larger question, maybe the largest, is whether we are -- as the storylines weave together/unravel -- just an local accident away from international disaster. Or maybe an accident away from decency.

Throughout the film, one of the threads is the behavior of men in a stereotypical fashion. The local cop who beats answers out of a local villager. Teenage boys looking to get high and touchy with girls in mini-skirts. American tourists who, in a time of crisis, look out for themselves rather than show mercy toward a fallen countryman (or countrywoman).

But Babel takes it one step further, not to an extreme, but to an ideal. Men do the right thing, which would make Spike Lee happy. A husband who broke his wife's heart finds his way back in -- when all hope is lost -- by standing his ground and fighting for her life. A dentist and a cop -- both Japanese -- resist the temptation of a teenaged nymph and step away when she offers something crazy, practically from the pages of a manga comic book. Even the youngest of the men, a boy, winds up 'fessing up to his mistake to cops after a shootout.

It's all too neat, but I'd be lying if I said all of it was not enthralling. For more than 2 hours, Babel captivated me. Titilated me. Scared me. But it didn't disappoint me. It's a masterpiece in storytelling on the screen. Sure, I'm two years late, but it was worth it.

The first time I saw Brad Pitt, he was a country hick in Thelma and Louise, a forgettable role (my opinion) in a film that had a stupid, pointless ending. (Later, I felt more comfortable with the point of the story, as well as the ending, and got over my desire for a sequel -- the ending put that hope to death.)

The last time I saw a Pitt flick was Troy, a forgettable piece of work that was mildly entertaining. Since then, it's been clear that Pitt has a global view that won't stop. As he has aged, he hasn't lost his connection to fans who want to think when they see a motion picture. Pitt never lost his lady fans, of course, and now that he's entrenched in films that have some meaning to most of us, he doesn't seem to care whether movie-goers are entertained. He has a point to make, and if entertainment surfaces, that's just gravy.

In one of the opening scenes, Pitt and co-star Cate Blanchett have a discussion on a tour bus that is classic acting class material. The "experts" say non-verbal language is 80 percent of communication, and though Blanchett didn't strike me in any way physically during this scene, her skills are exquisite. It's a sequence of impressions that I haven't walked through during a film since, maybe, seeing Meryl Streep for the first time. I remember going through the same thing with at least two of Nicole Kidman's films.

Since its release in 2006, Babel grossed more than $34 million at the box office -- a pittance in today's market. I'm glad, though, that this film was made. I'm sure nobody in Hollywood dares to write up another script with three plots rolled together, but if it's as good as this, why not go for it?

Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and director Alejandro Gonzalez. Two names I'll be looking for, especially since the movie bug is biting me good again.

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