Excellent suspense-thriller with some clever touches of black comedy makes "No Country for Old Men", a must see.

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2009)

"No Country for Old Men" isn't a hard movie to enjoy. Not the the acclaimed Oscar-Winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou ?, Raising Arizona) certainly rise to the occasion with this intriguing film that won Four Academy Awards... including Best Picture, Best Director(s), and Best Supporting Actor (Javier Bardem).
An Ordinary Man by the name of Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) finds his way into a bloody crime scene. He sees a couple of dead bodies, a dead dog and a pickup full of heroin. But Llewelyn also discover two million dollars that he couldn't resist. But a cold blooded killer named Anton Chirugh (Bardem) follows the trail of West Texas to find the money. Now it's a game of Cat and Mouse, which Llewelyn tries to outsmart Chriugh to no success. A decided sheriff named Ed Tom Bell (Oscar-Winner Tommy Lee Jones) finds himself caught in the middle.
Directed Joel and Ethan Coen, who also wrote the Oscar-Winning adaptation from the Pulitzer Prize Author Cormac McCarthy (All the Pretty Horses, The Road). The Coen Brothers made an highly watchable film, it has atmospheric Texas landscapes, realistic settings, incredible suspense, clever touches of black comedy, tightly edited (Which the Coen Brothers won another Oscar but they used a pseudonym for editing the movie) and Bardem's scene-stealing performance as a psychopath murderer makes this movie... a must see.
The Production Values are used strongly here, especially Roger Deakins' widescreen cinematography (He received an Oscar nomination for his work) and the rate use of no music score in the movie (expect only in the credits) makes this picture extremely tense by using only sound effects by giving the feature more credit. Anyone who enjoys thrillers will be not disappointed.
The actors are top notch here... Jones' gives an quiet good performance as a West Texas Sheriff, who doesn't like the way civilization is crumbling (Which the film's title would make sense to his character). Brolin is very good as the man will do anything to keep his irresistible two million dollars. Bardem is outstanding here, he gives one of the most coldest killers in film history (Not to mention his character name Anton Chigurh is certainly memorable). Kelly MacDonald is fine as Moss' worried wife, Carla Jean. Woody Harrelson has a few scenes as a hired hit-men to kill Chigurh and find the money. Stephen Root (Best known for doing the voice of Bill in the animated series "King of the Hill") plays a mysterious rich drug runner, who tries to rip-off Chigurh. Garret Dillahunt (Just recently played Krug in the remake of "The Last House on the Left") gives the movie some comic relief as a inexperienced sheriff.
Although i never read the novel. This is a solid motion picture with hair-raising suspense, it has a sense of humor and a strong cast. I wasn't surprise, when this movie won the top categories at the Academy Awards. This was one of the most critically acclaimed features of 2007. It is a movie, i would watch every year. But i think, it was close being a masterpiece (Which are truly rare in today's cinema). I felt the only fault in the movie is in the end, when Bell recently retired from being the sheriff. He sits quietly in the kitchen table with his wife (Tess Harper). He tells two stories about him as a boy, he found lost money that was given by his late father. The other story that his father rode past him on a snowy mountain pass, going ahead to make a fire in the surrounding cold darkness. Whenever Bell got there, he knew his father would be waiting... then he woke up. I felt the conclusion ended abruptly. I remember seeing that movie with an audience, they were certainly confused. But i wasn't and i thought that wasn't really the right way to end a terrific movie like this, that's the only flaw in it.
The DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an strong Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD also includes three featurettes. Overall "No Country for Old Men" is a excellent movie. I haven't seen this much suspense handed so genuinely like this before. It is certainly the most straightforward film coming from the Coen Brothers. Which they are known for their bizarre original comedies. It's a certainly an modern near classic that should not be missed. Super 35. (**** 1/2 out of *****).