...But is it a country for anybody..?

Rating: 9/10 (3 February 2008)

This movie really did a good job scaring me in a way I haven't been for a very long time. I had no idea how it was going to develop (which doesn't happen very often these days!) and several times during the movie I noticed I was holding my breath. On principle I don't give a movie top rating after the first review so I am going to give it 9/10 - and maybe I will change this when I have seen it again.
It's a story we have seen so many times before; a guy stumbles over some drug money and decides to keep them - knowing that there is a big risk involved. Our "lucky" guy is an Vietnam veteran(Llewelyn Moss) who, during a hunting trip, stumbles over a very obvious shoot-out scene. A lot of automatic weapons and a lot of dead bodies. Our guy figures that there must have been "a last man standing" and uses his hunting skills to track him down. He is in the meantime dead but has the money that our guy probably knew he would have as he had seen the drugs lying on a truck. From here on the movie turns into a chase between Moss and an assassin/serial killer. I know that this probably doesn't sound altogether innovative but the script and direction makes the difference.
Tommy Lee opens the movie with a narrative where he describes the changes in time seen from the law enforcers point of view. A couple of generations ago they didn't have to wear a gun but now.!
There was something about our protagonists that made me shutter; the title is so true "this is no country for old men". Its only a country for the ruthless and cynical.
I have rarely seen a better casting. Moss is so believable as the war veteran living in a camper. His opponent - Anton Chigurh - epitomizes evil. I came to think of "the iceman" every time he appeared. So sinister and determined. One of the things that is so great is, that you don't know who will prevail. Chigurh is so lethal but on the other hand Moss knows how to handle himself very well. He is resourceful and have a background as a veteran and a hunter to make him a formidable opponent.
This movie doesn't leave you very optimistic and with a faith in your fellow man but it tells you a thrilling story of two very determined men who wont yield. Go see this movie - also to support a production who dares to venture into new territory with the risks this implies. It would have been so much easier just to follow the sort of premade scripts that exists for these kind of movies but, as we know, the Coen brothers have artistic aspirations that makes their movies such a thrill to watch. Thanks guys!
Regards Simon
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