The Coen Brothers by Ronald Bergan (Orion, £18.99)

Joel and Ethan Coen are two strange peas from the same odd pod.

Not only do they share the same gene pool, these sibling film-makers also enjoy a shared vision of how to make major studio movies with idiosyncratic brilliance.

From their first blacker-than-black film noir Blood Simple to the Oscar-winning Fargo and beyond to their latest eagerly-awaited chain gang saga Oh Brother, Where Art Thou!, the Coens have consistently produced, written and directed some of the best films of the past 20 years.

But what lurks beneath the surface, beneath the nerdy glasses and throwback hairstyles of this unlikely pair of modern American film icons?

Not a lot really, if Ronald Bergan's book is anything to go by. This, the first full-length Coen biography, offers an insightful look at their work but only scant asides about the men behind the camera.

We learn that they come from a Jew-ish (as opposed to Jewish), intellectual Minnesotan family, they made little impact at school and college and went on to enjoy happy marriages to Trish, a film editor, and Frances, an actress who won an Oscar for her superb portrayal of heavily-pregnant cop Marge Gunderson in Fargo.

And that's about it.

If you're looking for a titillating tell-all about the charismatic Coens, you'd better keep looking. If on the other hand you are looking for an intelligent analysis of their work with comic co-operation from the brothers themselves, look no further.