In Bruges ****

Bruges, Belgium (say "Broozh") is reputedly the best-preserved medieval town in Europe, saved from modernization by an economic decline after its glory days from the 12th through the 15th centuries, and is now a major tourist destination. In that regard it's a lot like South Beach, and, like that reborn Art Deco architectural curiosity, it has an underbelly of drug dealers, petty thieves, prostitutes, and film crews. So it's not such a stretch to find two Irish hit men from London, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) holed up there on orders from the boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), after a messy job in London.

This is a dark, very dark, crime comedy, where there is honor among thieves, and everyone, even professional killers, has a code they live by. The story centers on Ray, who is remorseful about a part of the job that went bad, and Ken, Ray's accomplice and mentor, who is forced to reconsider where his profession ends and his values begin. Ray is bored in Bruges, until he finds that underbelly, while Ken is the happy tourist. Then the story takes a very dark turn. The script is well-plotted, and clever in the way it weaves its strands together. Above all, the dialog has a many-sided ring to it. The locations are interesting, the pacing is good, and the sights of Bruges are put to good use, from churches and towers to violent medieval paintings.

Farrell does a terrific job as the guilt-racked hit man, eerily similar in some ways to his recent role in "Cassandra's Dream," which was shot in mid-2006, versus Feb-Mar 2007 for this feature. The attraction of the two roles, I dare say, besides the inner conflicts of the characters, is the relatively small scale of both movies. I think he's found his niche. Supporting players are uniformly good, from the sexy local Chloë (Clémence Poésy), to the dwarf American actor (Jordan Prentice), and of course the always dependable Fiennes. "In Bruges" oscillates between laugh-out-loud comedy and serious drama, and ends up as a wryly satisfying work, put together in a workman-like manner with its own version of grace.

Rated R. 107 minutes. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh. Produced by Graham Broadbent and Peter Czernin. Distributed by Focus Features. Principal actors: Collin Farrell, Brendon Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, and Jordan Prentice.