As part of my film studies course I have to do a project on an Auteur and I've chosen the Coen Bros. Problem is I can't think of a question or line of investigation that I should have concerning them.

e.g. Do the amount of references to other films included in their films disqualify the Coen Brothers from being Auteurs

Like that just do able.

Any suggestions would be appriecated.

They have a fondness for the absurdities and ironies of life, and the isolation of each of us to one another. Perhaps you could look at how they fit into the tradition of black humour?
If you were to follow that line of thinking, I would focus on Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, and Barton Fink. These films deal with outrageous twists of fate which seem to tell us that the universe is having a joke at our expense, and use grotesquerie for humour identification.

Good luck whatever you do.
They are definetly auteurs. Borrowing ideas don't mean they don't transform those ideas into their own vision.

I would also include Millers Crossing look at how they twist the film noir, taking elements from previous films such as dark humour and irony.

I'm also doing a project on the Coen Brothers for a similar course, although my chosen emphasis isn't quite the same. I thought I'd revive this thread, and maybe use some of the responses as part of the research.

Basically, I'm looking at why the Coens draw so heavily from film noir in many of their projects, and specifically in Blood Simple and The Man Who Wasn't There. I've considered a few of the most significant factors so far:

1) Their philosophical beliefs (fatalism/nihilism are both suited to noir)

2) The decade in which the Coens came to prominence, the 1980s: an arguably conservative + nostalgic period for America, with a former B-movie actor as president

3) Their views on traditional gender roles: the 1940/50s potent male lead is far removed from Ed Crane, The Man Who Wasn't/Isn't There

OR

4) Personal preference - Joel and Ethan reject high-minded theorising, and instead make films that affect the audience on a purely emotional level. Film noir's pessimism and occasional black humour are just aspects of a style that they pastiche successfully.

Any thoughts?