I liked the music, the re-doing of the cliches was fun, and no one made a serious statement. A grin throughout.
A movie I hated was "Amadeus," which purported to bear some relationship to history but instead was puerile fabrication. I doubt that it made anyone want to listen to Mozart. "O Brother" avoided the precious pretense of "Amadeus" and brought the music forward as entertainment. Visually, it was excellent, and some of the images will remain with me for a long time.