BEFORE WE BEGIN, I’d like to say a few words. Overall, the crop of films I caught this year was somewhat below par, but the two films in the upper echelon of my list have been irrefutable validations both of filmmaking and film watching. As such, despite the numerous disappointments and the overall lack of solidity among supposedly quality pictures, this year has been the most enlightening and satisfying year for films since 2001.

10. “Sicko”
Rated PG-13, dir. Michael Moore
It’s difficult to imagine Michael Moore as a child, mostly because it’s hard to imagine a child less mature than Michael Moore. His documentaries “Bowling for Columbine” and “Fahrenheit 9/11” garnered considerable critical acclaim yet were almost as much about him as they were about gun laws in America and the War on Terror. Thankfully, Moore’s latest finds him taking his plus-sized ego out of the picture to present a clearer analysis of the state of health care, both in our country and the rest of the world. While he retains his uncanny knack for compelling narrative, Moore finally lets the facts do (most of) the talking.

9. “Michael Clayton”
Rated R, dir. Tony Gilroy
In theory, it’s “Erin Brockovich” with dudes. In application, first-time director Tony Gilroy’s “Michael Clayton” is a taut, refreshing character-study-as-corporate-thriller that cunningly avoids pigeonholing itself as a trite morality play. Debutant Gilroy’s tasteful restraint steers the film clear of the melodramatic schlock of conventional “intellectual” thrillers — and George “Charisma” Clooney, flanked by stellar turns from Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson, oozes class and gives the performance of his career as he powers the film’s engine along through what could have felt like familiar terrain.

8. “Interview”
Rated R, dir. Steve Buscemi
An American remake of slain Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh’s 2003 picture of the same name, writer-director-actor Steve Buscemi’s “Interview” is about as harrowing, subtle and effortlessly manipulative as a two-actor psychodrama can be. Buscemi’s jaded, out-of-favor foreign correspondent and Sienna Miller’s ditzy, overtly sexual movie star clash from the moment they meet — but the brilliance of “Interview” lies in how aptly the two stars turn an hour and a half’s worth of battle-of-the-sexes metaconversation into a compelling commentary on the types of characters they play. If only the ending had not betrayed the moral see-saw of the rest of the film, “Interview” would rank even higher.

7. “American Gangster”
Rated R, dir. Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott, being without a doubt the most underrated of mainstream directors, is the epitome of inconsistency. For every “Alien,” “Blade Runner” and “Kingdom of Heaven,” there is a “Legend,” a “G.I. Jane,” and a “Hannibal.” The preeminent anti-auteur has tackled almost every film genre in existence, and thankfully, his period crime epic “American Gangster” sprawls out over our memories and imaginations of 1970s urban America with equal parts grit and class. That Denzel Washington’s star turn as seminal Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas is superb is hardly a shock; what’s more surprising is that the film doesn’t need to use him as a crutch as it glides through the blood-soaked streets of America’s recent past with consistently assured pace and frank, unpretentious wisdom.

6. “The Darjeeling Limited”
Rated R, dir. Wes Anderson
Few auteurs in this age of cinema, or indeed any other, can claim raw talent on par with Wes Anderson. His unparalleled mastery of visual aesthetics, as well as an uncanny knack for encapsulating infinitely complex emotions in pristine miniaturist scenarios, manifested itself in two of the most intricately beautiful films of the ’90s and 2000s, respectively, in “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums.” After “The Life Aquatic,” his noticeable dip in form was the source of much anxiety among cinephiles — an anxiety that was instantly quelled with the release of “The Darjeeling Limited.” A literal and emotional odyssey that subverts expectation and cliché at almost every turn, “Darjeeling”’s chronicle of three spoiled ninnies on a spiritual journey to re-establish familial bonds is clever and insightful in ways that the quirky wunderkind’s contemporaries can only dream of. His mastery of color and tactful feel for environment makes the film’s vibrant setting in modern-day India less a backdrop and more an entity. In short, Anderson’s latest is the sort of comeback that makes you feel ashamed to ever have doubted him.

5. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Rated R, dir. Tim Burton
Famously eclectic and notoriously hit-or-miss, Tim Burton is a director who carries with him a humongous risk and an even more gargantuan pay-off if his risks pan out. I’m no connoisseur of musical theatre, and as such doubt my qualifications to judge “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” as an adaptation of the eponymous stage production — but whatever material Burton chose to adapt received his absolute A-game. He’s not the kind of director who will ever make a flawless picture, but “Sweeney Todd” is the closest he’s come thus far — and not at the expense of his trademarks. Much has been made of Johnny Depp’s lack of conventional pipes, but he flips his shortcomings through a recalibration of mentality — Depp’s musical numbers are no less stirring though they are sung seemingly to himself rather than an audience. Eerie, gothic imagery and appropriately theatrical panache pervade the very fibers of “Todd”’s being, and grisly though it may be, it’s simply the purest and most concentrated Burton’s talent has been in years.

4. “Knocked Up”
Rated R, dir. Judd Apatow
And so begins a new era in American comedies — an era in which funny movies about serious issues don’t rely on cheap pop culture references and corny props like hamburger phones to make us laugh and develop complex characters. In this forthcoming era, smart filmmakers will cease their attempts to out-hip their irony-hungry audiences, abandoning such fads in favor of the directness and sincerity (epitomized by Judd Apatow’s muse Seth Rogen) that spawns truly multidimensional comedy. This new generation will see “Knocked Up” as its ideal, recognizing that Apatow’s earnest, witty exploration of the depths of the male psyche humbly transcends the easy gags and predictable one-liners that we’ve come to accept as comedy. If only.

3. “Zodiac”
Rated R, dir. David Fincher
Outside of his rabid cult following, “Se7en” and “Fight Club” director David Fincher had been keeping such a low profile, he’d already begun slipping into obscurity. Then came “Zodiac,” a sprawling chronicle of the 1960s-70s police and media investigations of the titular Californian serial killer. The film swiftly defies convention — there is no primary investigator, no definite suspect, and no clear resolution to be found. Unlike in Fincher’s previous thrill rides, we don’t need rotting corpses and rain-soaked pursuits to keep us on the edge of our seats. We get our kicks from spoken revelations of evidence and backstory, and most importantly, from atmosphere. Fincher and cinematographer Harris Sevides shoot the San Francisco of the ’60s and ’70s with dazzling drear, making it look as if the fear and tension caused by the Zodiac killer have lowered a fog onto the vibrant city. Perhaps the city remained as vibrant as it had been; perhaps seeing the world so vividly through the eyes of “Zodiac”’s expertly drawn characters is the reason we see the City bleed grey.

2. “No Country for Old Men”
Rated R, dir. Joel and Ethan Coen
One word to describe “No Country for Old Men”? Flawless. 122 words? It’s a stripped-down, gothic Western exploration of the interactions between feeble humankind and pure, unmitigated evil. The Coen brothers’ stunning return to form is an examination of the progression of the human race on this earth, a tale simultaneously exuding ancient importance and modern urgency. Roger Deakins, the Coens’ longtime director of photography, lucidly captures the awe-inspiring sublimity of the American Southwest with the seamless interplay of light and dark. The characters themselves are caught in the middle of a cosmic clash between flawed and evil, human and inhuman, (dare I say it?) mortal and godly. “No Country for Old Men” itself is neither flawed nor evil, but the result of the Coen brothers’ strongest effort since “Fargo” is borderline divine.

1. “There Will Be Blood”
Rated R, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
If “No Country for Old Men” is a work for the cinematic pantheon, “There Will Be Blood” is a titan among deities. If “No Country” is a flawless film, “Blood” is more than perfect. If “No Country” is fated to be a classic of our time, “Blood” will be timeless. A friend of mine remarked during a discussion of the film that American cinema appears to have settled into a state of complacency — it seems to be enough to have a decent concept and execute it well. No one swings for the fences anymore — that is, except P.T. Anderson.

When “There Will Be Blood” rears its glorious, bloodstained head, it is not only an undeniable testament to the immense scope and power of cinema but a validation of all previous efforts by anyone to produce something as ambitiously conceived and masterfully executed. Anderson’s film is an unerring work of purposeful complexity and unparalleled artistry. On one level, it is a majestic, unwavering chronicle of Manifest Destiny, seamlessly reconstructing a period in American history that reverberates, and defines the very essence of our civilization, to this day. On another level, it is one of the most artfully woven character studies in the history of cinema — to brand Daniel Plainview a villain or even an anti-hero is to ignore the point entirely, the point that what fascinates and compels us about Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance for the ages is not what we comfortingly view as alien, but what we are afraid to see in ourselves.

The film is an aesthetic as well as an intellectual marvel — Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood’s unspeakably riveting score is brilliantly interspliced with grandiose flourishes of Brahms and Arvo Pärt. Director of photography Robert Elswit’s partnership with Anderson clicks in grander fashion than ever before, as each shot is a meticulously crafted composition of fiery hues and elegant motion. And unto the auteur whose vision and ambition have birthed this monstrosity of pomp and grandeur that dares to swing for the fences, P.T. Anderson, is due the most praise. Every scene in his masterpiece is essential, and every shot lasts pretty much as long as it should. “There Will Be Blood” is a genuinely flawless film and, more so than any picture since “Mulholland Drive,” an exemplary exercise in the medium.