'Inception' opening scene analysis

The opening scene started with waves crashing violently on rocks. The sequence carries on for up to 12 seconds before the protagonist is introduced. The waves represent the blur of human emotions. In dreams, waves usually portrays danger and one's subconscious desire or what turn of changes could be approaching in the near future. The white foams of the waves also create a dreamy sense against the violent crashes. These representations of waves show that the protagonist is going to face a series of trouble and chaos in the near future, one that couldn't be backed away so easily like the dark depths of the sea.

Next, the protagonist is first introduced by an angled shot, showing the desperation and pain he is facing. The waves kept churning in his face. This further implies that the chaos is crashing itself onto him. 

However, despite the dangerous waves and a suffering protagonists, the viewers see children laughing and playing in the distant from the protagonist's point of view. This immediately creates a feeling of confusion. Why are there children laughing and playing in a scene which was started with so much sense danger? This then creates the feeling of 'unrealistic' that makes us viewers go... "um... wait a minute,".

That feeling starts to get even more apparent when we see an old fashioned Japanese castle. The protagonist's and the children's costumes were of modern day. Also, we see a guard from some sort of some special security firm poking a gun at him. Why would there be a Japanese castle there? And why would there be children in an area where there are armed people?

The protagonist was then half dragged - haft carried into the castle where everybody wears modern day suits. Judging by the style he was dragged, the viewers mostly believe that he was going to be kept prisoner or was going to be investigated. However, we see him getting food - and not in a cell, but at the dining table with the boss - in the next scene, adding onto the confusion. "So... Wasn't he captured or something?"

We then see the leader of who we assume are the antagonists. The camera changes from a mid close up scene into a close up of his face, meaning that whatever he was saying is of importance. The protagonist then looks up, confirming that whatever he had said is very important.

It became even more confusing when the exactly next shot was of the protagonist but in a different gesture - a more confident and open pose. 

His hair was set up and he was wearing a suit, very much alike the other people in the scene. We can see that the characters were still in the same scene as two seconds ago. There are proper food and wine on the table. Viewers then begins to wonder when has everything changed and what was the reason? What happened?

The old man was replaced by a younger man, presumably the younger version of himself. We know that because he sat at the exact same place where the old man had sit. By now, the viewers know that this is a flashback. Although not yet grasped what happened in the earlier minutes, we know that the real story starts now.

A new character was also introduced, supporting the idea that the settings of the two scenes were not the same. This is another event that happens to be in another timeline.