An Impressive Modern Western

Rating: 8/10 (31 January 2012)

The second cinematic outing from directing duo Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men is a finely polished, ultra-violent Western-thriller that, despite a slow- burning pace full of extended monologues and seemingly random interludes, rewards patient viewers with edge-of- your-seat thrills, stunning cinematography and top-class acting, especially from Javier Bardem as the ruthless sociopathic hit-man, whose very presence in each scene will scare the living daylights out of each viewer. The underrated Josh Brolin is impressive as the Vietnam veteran who stumbles across a drug deal gone murderously wrong, while Tommy Lee Jones is exceptional as the policeman who overviews the case in its bloody entirety. Maybe not worthy of all the awards it received (particularly Best Picture/Director), but an intoxicating affair overall.