I began watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

As a new anime watcher who recently began watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I'm really intrigued by the idea of alchemy being governed by scientific-like rules and the principle of equivalent exchange, but I'm also confused about how strictly these rules are followed because sometimes it feels like the characters can bend them in unexpected ways during fights or emotional moments.

I'm curious whether that's part of the deeper lore of the series or if I'm misinterpreting how flexible the alchemy system actually is, and I also find myself wondering whether the philosophical themes—like the consequences of trying to control nature, the meaning of sacrifice, and the moral complexity of ambition—are meant to be understood right away or if the show gradually builds up to them, because as a beginner I often feel like I'm watching two stories at once: a personal journey of the Elric brothers and a much larger political and existential conflict that I only partially understand, so I'm asking whether this feeling is normal and whether I should expect the world-building, the different nations, and the military politics to slowly make more sense as the story progresses, since I don't want to miss the deeper meaning behind the events I'm seeing.