As a critic, I try to keep my knowledge of a film to a minimum before seeing it, which helps me make a truer observation about the movie as it unfolds before me. That practice sometimes results in a huge surprise. Take Warrior, for instance. Having seen a partial trailer here and there, I assumed it would deal mostly with fighting in a ring, and after The Fighter -- last year’s terrific year-end surprise -- I wasn’t sure I wanted to go down that road again.

Warrior focuses on two estranged brothers who end up glove to glove in a MMA (mixed martial arts) match for big bucks. Tommy Conlon’s (Tom Hardy) return to his hometown in Philadelphia after 14 years starts this intense and sometimes brutal story. Having lost his mom, he’s now on his father’s doorstep asking for his help in training for the mega-bucks Sparta martial arts match.

Dad, “Paddy” (Nick Nolte), a recovered alcoholic, thinks this might be a joyful reunion with Tommy, but that’s not the case. Tommy, who’s short and sour on exactly what he thinks about his dad, makes it clear he only wants his talents as a former trainer. Noticing that Dad has filled the house with religious items, Tommy becomes even angrier and tells his father, “Mom needed you; I needed you.”  

Paddy agrees to help, knowing he’ll have to convince Tommy he can’t be serious about training if he won’t give up his pills and horrible diet. The family dynamics slowly unfold through weeks of rigorous training in the gym and elsewhere. Paddy tries everything to emotionally reunite with his son, but nothing works. Tommy is shut off to his father’s pleas.

Hoping to fix family problems all at once, Paddy heads off to see his other son Brendan (Joel Edgerton), who’s mad at him as well as at Tommy. However, Brendan leaves Paddy in the driveway, crying because his son won’t even let him see his only two grandchildren.

Brendan, an ex-fighter-turned teacher, suddenly finds himself out of a job. He tries a few parking lot fights at local strip clubs but ends up getting massacred for only a few bucks. He too sets his sights on Sparta as a way to keep his home from foreclosure. For him it’s a fight for his family. A surprising subplot about Tommy reveals that -- for him -- it’s a fight for his country.

I soon realized that Warrior set its sights on something much deeper than fighting. It’s truly about “redemption, reconciliation and the power of the human spirit.” As he proved with Miracle, director Gavin O’Connor knows how to get a heartwarming and crowd-cheering story out of a supposed sports movie. His excellent casting helps him do the same thing with this film.  

Even though Tommy comes off like a pure bully and ungrateful son at the beginning, Hardy (Inception) offers up a character with a shadow of empathy, one that made me watch each scene with great expectation. And Edgerton (Animal Kingdom) plays the kinder, gentler brother evenly. He projects both a sad irony and true faithfulness to his family -- even over the objection about fighting from his wife (Jennifer Morrison). Veteran actor Nolte is convincing as a man down on his luck but ready to get up and try once again.

Because Warrior includes many brutal fight scenes, I encourage squeamish viewers to risk a few minutes of closed eyes in order to see the rest of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if this excellent film receives some 2011 Oscar mentions.

(Released by Lionsgate and rated “PG-13” for sequences of intense mixed martial arts fighting, some language and thematic material.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.