Just as with the tracking shot, Anderson’s deep-rooted love of symmetry in all of his shot compositions has taken shape over time. Traces of this trait can be seen in all of his early movies, of course, but cut to present, and his initial obsession has bloomed into full-blown mania.
The man simply cannot resist the draw of reciprocal arrangement of props and characters in front of his camera. This attribute pops up in Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, but check out everything from The Royal Tenenbaums onward, and it becomes more and more prevalent.
Some may argue against his philosophy, instead advocating techniques that diffuse the symmetry Anderson has become known for (and which he most likely got through his love for Stanley Kubrick). But for Anderson, symmetry is a very necessary piece of his signature.