Alejandro González Iñárritu first came to Hollywood's attention with his stunning, narratively fragmented debut Amores Perros. It marked the emergence of a new talent and, alongside Y Tu Mama Tambien, put Mexican cinema on the map.

21 Grams followed - another non-linear tale, this time Hollywood-funded, in English and starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. Iñárritu was no one-hit wonder.

And so to Babel, the - you guessed it - non-linear union of another disparate set of tragedies, it features a plethora of powerhouse performances.

Like Iñárritu's previous efforts, it begins with a tragedy which has implications beyond its victims. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are a grieving couple holidaying in North Africa when a stray bullet strikes Blanchett as she sleeps on a bus.

On the other side of the world, a Japanese teenager attempts to find her place in the world as she struggles with deafness, the inability to speak and her emerging sexuality.

As if this isn't enough, in California a Mexican housekeeper and her nephew (Mexican heart-throb Gael Garcia Bernal) take the two children in her care on a road trip home so that she can attend her son's wedding.

It really is difficult to find fault with Babel. Technically the film is superb, with some wonderful cinematography and editing and a truly astonishing use of sound that really helps the audience get inside the heads of the protagonists.

Performance-wise, expect Oscar nominations and a potential winner in the grey-haired Pitt, underplaying beautifully as the grief-stricken husband stuck in a place he can't quite understand.

The standout performance, however, comes from the relatively unknown (outside of Japan, anyway) Rinko Kikuchi as the troubled Japanese teen. Conveying adolescent angst whilst still remaining immensely sympathetic is no mean feat – there are big things to come from this young actress.

If there is a criticism, however, it is that it feels a mite too familiar. Enlightening, emotionally draining and absorbing though it is, you can't quite escape the feeling that you've seen it all before.

Replace the shooting with a car crash, the exotic locations for Mexico City, and the themes explored - and more importantly, the way in which they are explored – and Babel really isn't that different to Amores Perros.

There's little doubt that Iñárritu has a distinctive and unique voice, but what else is he capable of? Let's hope his next picture provides the necessary departure.

Nick Forward