The story is split into two. The serious half is about a prominent ophthalmologist named Judah (skillfully played by Martin Landau) whose life is about to go to pieces because his mistress is threatening to expose his infidelities (among other transgressions). Judah turns to his gangster brother, who offers to settle the problem... permanently. The second story has the laughs and is about a documentary filmmaker (Woody Allen) who has his artistic integrity called into question when he takes a job filming a piece on an insipid, blowhard TV comedian. This sets up the moral debate. And in the end - the bad have it good, while the good suffer. And God either doesn't care or is nonexistent.
The final monologue sums up the themes in a nutshell. Beyond the question of God and morality, there’s the question of choice, of humankind's search to find meaning and love and identity, etc. Perhaps we are all deluding ourselves one way or the other, but it’s how we cope, how we live with our foibles and get through each day.
The character development in this film is particularly rich and the ideas absorbing.
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