I read you question again and I didn't really answer it. But please, we're all friends here, call me Marc
There's certainly no magic formula for making your video instantly pro. It's a combination of talent, experience and the right tools. The mistake we all fall in to is being led by the technology.
I found myself today searching for "cool" plugins. It's too easy to get trapped into thinking, "if only I had the rights tool". Well, my friend, you do have the right tools in Premiere
Someone posted a tip the other day about increasing the brightness and contrast on clips. I believe it was tone33. I took a stab at following his lead and lo and behold the effect looked fantastic. Really gave the video an improved look. There's so much you can acheive through what you've already got (and without spending a penny!)
If I had a spare $1,000, I'd definately buy Saphire. I love some of the effects and especially the glow. Annoyingly, this particular effect is standard in Vegas. Grrr. Then, as I said, twixtor apparently gives that super slick slow mo effect that everyone's always after.
I'm looking at featuring a few plugins in an article, so if you anyone has a few suggestions...