The Darjeeling Limited is Wes Anderson's follow-up to The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and as much as the previous movie was unfettered and somewhat unfocused, the new one is compact and concise. One might call this a welcome shift, although the result, for me, was somewhat surprising. I found it satisfactory, yet somewhat slight. In the Anderson oeuvre, it feels minor: although it hits its goals, it doesn't necessarily aim big this time.

We join three brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman) as they meet up in India for a bonding excursion. But it was the idea of only one of them -- the other two seem to be only reluctantly complying -- and it soon becomes clear that they each have their own issues, and that a tragedy blunted their recent collective past. Things don't go quite as planned, but the unplanned events create resonance for them, in ways both comic and tragic.

Anderson is already a pro at layering a quirky comedy over even more layers of bitter sadness, regrets, and frustrations, and he delivers them all with his unique panache. However, a greater depth isn't achieved this time, perhaps due to having three main characters split a relatively short running time; and India as a healing locale isn't given its due, feeling more like a colorful tourist stop than a spiritual place.

Still, for the most part, you get what you expect from an Anderson movie here. I once read somewhere that the good directors don't make many different movies. Instead, each movie is just one part of a long continuous film. If this is the case for Anderson, then The Darjeeling Limited is simply keeping up the pace. (Capsule review.)

(Released by Fox Searchlight and rated "R" for language.)

Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com