My explanation for the ending

Now, of course this is the type of movie where everyone forms their own opinions and conclusions, I simply tried to look at things as carefully and as logically as possible. I saw the movie like 3 times to get a better feel for it, definitely not something you can digest in one viewing.

Now I believe the tangible(non philosophical)ending is this: Bainsley leaves town(or not), Bob is hospitalized and may potentially die, Qohen's consciousness or "soul" is transferred to the neural net, to be part of it forever, or until it is destroyed. What we see at the end with him destroying the neural net with a hammer wasn't physically happening, it was effectively an illusion. Qohen accepts his fate, and reemerges in the neural net, effectively in "heaven" you can say, he can create his own reality.

Subsequently one can also imagine that after the sunset, he became intangible, just an "entity" in the vastness of the neural net.

Philosophical aspect to the ending: The entire movie Qohen was looking for meaning in life, via the phone call, or simply, a calling. In so doing, he lost the opportunity to create meaning for himself. If you think logically about it, life is meaningless, we are born, go through the various process, reproduce, then die. But that isn't meaning, that is simply programming in our DNA telling us to do things in exchange for sensory rewards(pleasure, relaxation, euphoria).

The only way for life to have meaning is to give it meaning, find a reason to live, a person, a goal, anything, and your life will have its own unique meaning for existence. Even if you simply want to "enjoy life", that in itself is meaning.

Finally, the ending isn't as depressing as everyone seems to think, even if the Zero Theorem is true, it means that everything was created out of nothing, which defies the laws of the universe as we know them. However, if true, why wouldn't the universe "pop out of nowhere", again? Why assume its a one time glitch? I think the Zero Theorem itself can't prove that, because no one will be around to experience it.

Not relevant to the movie, just my thought on the universe:
Based on what I know, and simple logic, even though I can't prove it, based on the theories and universal laws we already know, the universe will expand until one day it begins to collapse on its own gravitational pull. Once the matter is all condensed into an infinitely small, infinitely hot and dense ball, it will explode again, recreating the universe. The true wonder is whether or not it reforms the same exact way or if its totally random each time.

Theoretically this could be the trillionth iteration of the universe, for all we know, the earth, and all who dwell on it have already lived, that we already had this discussion. Not based on some magic, but probability. Throw dice enough times, and it will fall on the numbers you desire, or in this case, explode and reform enough times, and one day the SAME EXACT sequence of events will occur. This of course has tiny probability, but it exists nonetheless.

Honestly I can talk about the topic for several pages, but I won't.

Character metaphors

Management: A metaphor for control. Government, Religion, or any type of control. Seeks more wealth, knowledge and power. Is feared by those subjugated to his authority.

Bainsley: I'm not sure if she is a metaphor, but if she is, she is the "call", Qohen's call that is. To leave his meaningless life of waiting near the phone, to live with her. Assuming of course you believe she was genuine in her final intentions(I believe she was). She would most accurately represent the possibility of love and redemption.

Bob: Youth? Bob admits that he is 15 and is already bored with a lot of things. He still has interest in food and women apparently, so he is not totally jaded like Qohen. I think he is a metaphor that youth flies by, and things start to lose their novelty.

Thoughts? Feel free to add your own ending/character interpretations, or anything else you find relevant to the theme of the movie. None of these ideas are completely new, but we can go more in depth.