I just saw Babel the other night, and I also enjoyed it. Initially, I think my biggest draw to it was Prieto and Santaolalla, but the movie had a lot of other things going for it as well.
The people I saw it with complained that the Chieko subplot was random, but I thought her story was so interesting. The Moroccan boys' story was so tragic, and it got me a little teary-eyed. The story with the Hispanic nanny was also very, very sad. That actress did very well and deserved her Oscar nod.