When scenes continue to replay inside your head long after you've left the theater, it's a sign that the film is successful. That's what convinces me that The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is truly a compelling film and not one that temporarily entertained. I can remember a number of scenes a whole lot better than the film's title (Thank God for the Internet Movie Database). Had I been able to see this at Cannes, I would have thought their festival selections far stronger than the mediocre sampling I experienced; its two awards for Best Actor and Screenplay are well deserved.

With ongoing hot debates about border enforcement in the Southwest and work permit programs, politicians talk in generalities and abstractions, but Tommy Lee Jones' auspicious directorial debut humanizes the dispute. Penned by Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros and 21 Grams), the sensitive script weaves themes of loneliness, loyalty, retribution, redemption around a central core of idealism, dreams, and the worth of a human life. As ambitious as that sounds, the film takes on similar non-sequential structure to Arriaga's previous screenplays but is much tighter and easier to follow. For that reason and due to Jones' bravado performance, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada has a chance to jump its arthouse border and get some play in the multiplexes.

Set in destitute border town Van Horn, Texas that looks like something out of a John Houston movie, Jones plays a small cattle rancher named Pete Perkins, who hires and befriends illegal Mexican cowboy Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cedillo). When Estrada is senselessly killed by rookie border patrolman Mike Norton (Barry Pepper), Perkins soon discovers that both the Border Patrol and Sheriff Belmont (Dwight Yoakam) have no intentions of meting out justice--shades of the same attitude Woodie Guthrie writes about in “Deportee” where dead illegals are dehumanized and forgotten about. Perkins isn't about to let that happen, so he takes the law into his own hands, but in a most unusual way. And that difference is a major reason that this film stands well above the usual western justice yarns.

Mike Norton is headed into the “Twilight Zone,” privately escorted by Perkins, who has promised his friend to bury him near his family in Mexico. Norton's life has become boring and routine, perfunctorily doing “quickies” with his young wife Lou Ann (January Jones) and enhancing his fantasies with Hustler while on patrol. Once among the most popular couples in their Cincinnati high school, neither is thrilled about their present situation. Lou Ann only looks forward to the day they can go to the mall in Odessa; otherwise, she just watches soap operas and hangs out at the local cafe, where she takes up with middle-aged waitress Rachel (Melissa Leo), who gives her a glimpse of her future if she remains here.

Mike is a real louse. Not only does he treat his wife like a piece of used meat, but he sniffs his toe jam after trimming his nails, and brutally breaks a Mexican woman's nose while performing his duties. Ah... but the principle of karma certainly applies here. Norton is going to be smelling something far worse during his forced sojourn into Mexico and more. Every bad thing he's done comes back at him with a huge payoff.

The journey contains a number of surprising scenes and revelations that underscore the movie with great depth and irony--often poignant and haunting images that will linger for weeks after. It simply wouldn't be fair to say too much about many of these because a great deal of pleasure comes from seeing how the characters expose different aspects of their character. While the non-sequential arrangement may confuse slightly in the beginning, it soon straightens out and the film actually plays out relatively straight-forward in the final reel. Few will walk out saying “What the Hell did we just see” like many did with 21 Grams, although you will need to suspend belief in a few situations to appreciate the film's broad strokes.

Tommy Lee Jones is magnificent, both as actor and as director, burying himself into both roles. He takes us along with his journey of discovery, step by step without sweeping judgments and helps us relate to the scenes that do stretch credibility. When a film contains strong characters that nurse us over rugged horse paths and through craggy nooks, its a pleasure to follow it to its inevitable destination. I'll be looking forward to Jones' next directorial project; The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is surprisingly multi-layered and mature. It should be required viewing for all politicians currently debating immigration laws and border enforcement.