Amores Perros This one isn't European obviosuly (Mexican) but one of my favorites. If you don't know him, check out his other films (Alejandro Iñárritu). He brilliantly tells several basically different but intertwining stories and how incidents affect different lives.
Das Leben der Anderen (The lives of the others) Set in East-Berlin 1984 and has a pretty up to date topic (surveillance society)
Can vouch for these two, along with City of God. If you're into Brazilian films,
Bus 174 is very good as well. It takes a true news story about a guy who hijacked a city bus in Rio and investigates his life, his backstory, and what led him to that moment.
Some of my favorites:
Which Way Home, about Central American migrant children riding on top of trains to try to get into the United States. One of the most heartbreaking films you'll ever see.
The Motorcycle Diaries, about a young Che Guevara's motorcycle trip with his friend across Latin America. Beautiful cinematography.
The Return, a Russian film about an absentee father. Saying anything else would spoil the plot, but suffice it to say it's incredibly bleak.
Incendies. It's a movie about the Lebanese Civil War, but again, saying anything else would spoil it. I would actually rank this as the second- or third-best film I've ever seen.
edit: I second Nimvi's rec of Goodbye Lenin, and if you like Daniel Bruhl as an actor, I also recommend
The Edukators. Takes a wild turn about halfway through that you don't expect.
Except for "Ciske de Rat", but i don't think there is a translation for that.
