"Everything Is Illuminated" is a movie based on a genuine novel written by Jonathan Safran Foer. In this unforgettable and heart warming tale unlike any other,Jonathan,who is obsessed with collecting family heirlooms from those who have past away, finds himself in the midst of an adventure when he collects an interesting amber necklace from his grandmothers bedside. As the beginning of the movie unfolds it introduces two very important characters, Alex and Grandfather,who help Jonathan(played by Elija Wood)find a woman,named Augustine,that saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Alex is a man from Odessa that was swept up in the American culture of Michael Jackson and Shaquile O'Neal and their ways of "premium" dancing.While the grandfather is also from Odessa he is somewhat deranged and thinks he is blind. He insists on having a seeing eye dog that is also somewhat demented. Jonathan traves with Alex and Grandfather in a car throughout the whole movie searching for Trachimbrod,a Jewish shtetl (village) located in western Ukraine, and also the location of Augustine. All through the movie you are filled with laughter, suspense,sadness,and happiness as the three men take unexpected twists and turns to find a woman that made it possible for Jonathans grandfather to escape.

As most movies are now a days based on novels, remakes, and stories,some are outstanding ones that you would love to enjoy over and over again, while others are on the dull side. This movie was unlike any other that I've ever seen,not because it had state of the art technology or because it had the best special effects to make up for the lack of story plot, but because of the sheer brilliance and originality that it brought to the screen. It had real life characters that people could easily connect with. It is because of this that I give this movie five out of five stars.