  We present a new phenomenological analysis of the inclusive rare decay $B \to
X_s \ell^+\ell^-$. In particular, we present the first calculation of the NNLL
contributions due to the leading two-loop matrix elements, evaluated for
arbitrary dilepton invariant mass. This allows to obtain the first NNLL
estimates of the dilepton mass spectrum and the lepton forward-backward
asymmetry in the high $ M^2_{\ell^+ \ell^-}$ region, and to provide an
independent check of previously published results in the low $ M^2_{\ell^+
\ell^-}$ region. The numerical impact of these NNLL corrections in the
high-mass region ($ M^2_{\ell^+ \ell^-} > 14.4 GeV^2$) amounts to -13% in the
integrated rate, and leads to a reduction of the scale uncertainty to $\pm 3%$.
The impact of non-perturbative contributions in this region is also discussed
in detail.
