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I think Paul Thomas Anderson certainly is exploring some interesting parallel themes in his films. The first is the parent child relationship. In "Boogie Nights," Dirk Diggler is hardly even acknowledged by his parents before finding a surrogate family in the pornography world. (Also, in "Hard Eight" a similar theme develops with Phillip Baker Hall mentoring the fatherless John C. Reily). Then, of course, in "Magnolia," failed parent child relationships are the main focus of the film. Then, there is the theme of chance occurences and the sometimes shared randomness of life (leading to good or bad). Think of what happens to Gwyenth Paltrow's 'client' in "Hard Eight" and the results, the "doughnut shop" scene in "Boogie Nights," and just about every scene in "Magnolia." Finally, we have the enshrinement and ultimate degeneraton of the young and talented who are exploited. Think of both Dirk Diggler and the game show kid who becomes Bill Macy. There is a partcular distaste for televesion running through his films as well as well as the idea that there are 'angels' out there (Sydney in "Hard Eight" and Julianne Moore in "Boogie Nights" [both false angels, maybe], and, explicitly, the two kids in "Magnolia" as well as maybe the nurse and the police officer). Also, much of PTA's camera work is similar. Most notably, we have many shifts in lighting (oftenb within a scene), an extended use of soundtrack, and a love of the long tracking shot (the opening scene in "Boogie Nights" and the one introducing the game show set in "Magnolia." All of PTA's films have been both wonderful and flawed in my opinion. Hopefully, he can continue to progress into one of our great directors.
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