The end of the first decade of the 21st century is rapidly approaching and I’ve been thinking lately about my list of the best movies of the 00s. This final year has proved to be a stunner already, with Inglousious Basterds, Up , Where the Wild Things Are and A Serious Man in the mix for that decade list and a host of potential candidates left to see.

One thing I know for sure is that Fernando Meirelles’ City of God will show up very high on the list. In the seven years since I first saw it, it hasn’t diminished a bit in my estimation — on the contrary, it’s only grown in stature. I remember waiting months for the film to come out on DVD and then being pleasantly surprised when major Oscar buzz pushed it back into theaters. That was probably the only time I drove 45 minutes to an art theater to see a film for the second time.

Meirelles made wonderful use of music in City of God and the soundtrack became a small-scale hit in its own right. They even released a second CD of remixes, something you’d expect from a movie like Twilight, not a Brazilian art film.

Most of the film (and soundtrack) contains the score by Antonio Pinto & Ed Côrtez, a rich and sultry blend of techno and tropical beats. But a few songs play key roles too, including ‘Metamorfose Ambulante,’ today’s Song of the Day. This song, and its partners on the City of God soundtrack, share the distinction of being the only Portuguese songs in Portuguese in my music collection.

This album is a perfect example of my theory about movie soundtracks. I like it because it drops me right back into the world of this film… just listening to it now, I have the urge to pop the DVD into the player and watch the movie again.

[Note: I also ran into another one of those YouTube amateurs who tried her hand at this song even though she doesn’t speak Portuguese… she did a pretty good job, if you ask me, and she’s awfully cute too]