Saw this last night and enjoyed it. Thought provoking, emotional without seeming forced. It just felt very real to me (alright, so I have no reference point for the reality of war).
I loved the whole incident with the cow. I felt they did a great job of keeping it vague. It enhanced, IMO, the voyeuristic feel of the movie. You always felt as if you were getting a glimpse of something you couldn't truly be a part of.
What is cut from a movie is often more important than what was left behind, and I think this movie was a great example of that.