Final Cut is not for a beginner. I use it just about everyday in my studio and it is clearly not for beginners. I would however, recommend Final Cut and taking classes at a certified Apple training center where you would receive very formal training. Final Cut will run you about $1200. There is a regular consumer version of Final Cut called Final Cut Express. I think it is about $150. It is basically a scaled down version of Final Cut. If you already have a Mac, I would strongly recommend purchasing Final Cut Express. That way, if you choose to upgrade to Final Cut, you will already have a good understanding of how to use it. Final Cut and Final Cut Express will only run on a Mac. If you are serious about video editing, I would strongly recommend getting a Mac. I can't even begin to tell you how much better they are than regular computers.

If you are using a regular computer, I would recomend Pinnacle Studio 11 or Sony Vegas Movie Studio. Both are good consumer editing programs and offer HD editing. Another program you could look into is Adobe Premier CS3. The price tag is high but not as high as Final Cut. If you want to do audio editing, this would be a good program to go with. The two good things about Adobe Premier CS3 is that is available for both PCs and Macs and you can use Adobe After Effects CS3 along side Premier CS3.

You should really learn how to do real editing on a real editing program that I recommended, not including Movie Maker or iMovie. These two programs do not allow you to learn the proper way of editing nor do they offer you all of the features required to edit the proper way.

Hope this helps.
References :
Links to different programs.

Pinnacle Studio 11:
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/Home+Video/Studio+Family/

Final Cut and Final Cut Express:
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/finalcutpro/ (This is what I use)
http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/

Adobe Premier and After Effects CS3:
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/
http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/

Sony Vegas Movie Studio
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/vegasfamily.asp

Macs:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=7B723665&node=home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=7B723683&node=home/shop_mac/family/mac_pro (This is what I have)

The beginner video editing programs are adobe premier cs3, sony vegas pro, and final cut pro. These programs are prime for all your 2d work, layers, audio manipulation, and some simple effects.

The more advanced video editors are ones such as after effects cs3 in which scripts (called extensions in the program), cameras, masking, general 3d effects and others are more involved.
References :