"Inception" (PG-13, Avail. 12/7) - Films as challenging as they are entertaining do not come along every week or even every year. The rarity of these kinds of movies should tell us just how special they really are. "Inception" is that kind of movie.

Two years after making one of the most artistically satisfying blockbusters ever made, "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan is back with a story that takes place in what he calls "the architecture of the mind." Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the leader of a very elite and unique group of thieves. Masquerading as "subconscious security" they break into the mind through dreams to steal ideas.

After their most recent mark, Mr. Saito (Ken Watanabe), figures out who they really are, he gives Cobb and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) a chance to use their talents for him. What Saito really wants, though, is not to steal a thought, but to plant one. Certain this is possible, however difficult, Cobb takes the job when Saito promises him the chance to go home again. Wrongfully arrested for the death of his wife Mal (the excellent Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"), Cobb's been in Europe ever since, separated from his children. He can't say no to Saito.

Saito's most powerful business competitor, Maurice Fischer (Pete Postlethwaite, "The Usual Suspects") is dying. Saito wants Fischer's son (Cillian Murphy, "Batman Begins") to decide to give up the family business. This job will require the best team Cobb can get. Along with Arthur and Saito, Cobb will be entering the younger Fischer's mind with Eames (Tom Hardy, "RocknRolla"), a man who can change his identity within dreams, and Ariadne (Ellen Page), a gifted architecture student who creates the world of the dream.

"Inception" is a film with a lot to explain. The amount of exposition in this movie, while necessary, would be interminable if it were not given to us in action. Nolan gives us so much detail at such a rapid rate as the story progresses that it's impossible to catch it all in one viewing. This is a film that demands to be seen again, but who wouldn't want to? Not only is this a visual feast that should be viewed on the largest screen possible, it is a marvel of storytelling. When a movie involves getting into a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream and remains completely coherent throughout, you know you're dealing with a writer-director who knows what he's doing. Through it all, he never forgets that the audience needs a reason to care. Each character is fully realized and smart people are given smart dialogue.

As always, Nolan's casting is exceptional. DiCaprio gives one of his finest performances, infusing Cobb's incredible intelligence with plenty of heart. Unable to move on from his wife's death, he is a nearly broken man and it could cost his team dearly. The other standouts are Gordon-Levitt and Hardy, whose characters clash throughout the film. Gordon-Levitt continues to display his versatility after "(500) Days of Summer" and "The Lookout." Even though it's a cliche, Hardy truly does give a star making performance as the kind of charismatic character that makes you want him back on the screen whenever he's not there.

In case there was any doubt before this, "Inception" cements Christopher Nolan's place as one of the finest filmmakers of this generation, alongside David Fincher, Wes Anderson, and Paul Thomas Anderson. This time the hype is justified. "Inception" is even better than you'd hoped. 10/10.