http://embryons.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-alfredson-2011/

The chill of Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy creeps in like Carl Sandburg’s fog “on little cat feet”, under the skin and through to the bone, purveying its quarry with an inscrutable glance and moving on without a trace; as a true spy, the damage left in its wake is devastating, while its instigator goes undetected. Accordingly, the film is possibly one of the most beautifully orchestrated espionage “thrillers” in cinematic history, escaping tropes of shoot-outs and car chases, and leaving remnants of something equally understated and unsettling. Like an explosion in reverse, it unfolds not with a bang, but with a whimper.

(full thoughts at the link)