The greatest villain since Hannibal Lecter, the best film of the new millennium, the Coen's deliver again

Rating: 10/10 (26 November 2007)

No Country for Old Men may quite possibly be the best Coen brothers film to date. From the two men who brought you The Big Lebowski (one of the best comedies of the 90's) Fargo (one of the best drama's of the 90's) and O Brother Where Art Thou? (one of the most beautifully crafted films of 2000) comes this film. If you thought nothing could ever top those three films you are in for a big surprise, No Country for Old Men is not only the best film of 2007 but also one of the best films of the new millennium. It is the nearest to perfection one can get. It is, simply, a modern masterpiece.
The story revolves around Llewelyn Moss, a retired worker who hunts antelope in the deserts of Texas. One day Moss stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and also $2 million in cash. Moss takes it and flees only to have a Mexican gang and a sinister assassin by the name of Anton Chigurh. Along the way several men become part of the fray including a sheriff about to retire and a rival assassin of Chigurh's. The story follows that of Llewelyn mostly but Tommy Lee Jones as Sheriff Bell also plays a significant role. In the end it is more then a battle of wits between Moss and Chigurh, it is a battle of good and evil.
First off the acting in the film is among the best I've seen since American Beauty. Brolin, Jones, and Bardem are all Oscar worthy in my opinion. Brolin delivers the perfect portrayal of a man on the run who knows how to use his brain. We don't see Brolin running around shooting at everything that moves, instead the Coens' let us view Moss using his brain which makes the film way more interesting. Brolin's mild manner mix perfectly for the mold of Llewelyn Moss. Overall a great protagonist created by the Coens' and a great portrayal by Josh Brolin, a man we don't see too much of these days.
By far the best acting I've seen by a person this decade comes from that of Spanish actor Javier Bardem as the cold hearted Anton Chigurh. Chigurh sent shivers down my spine every time he spoke and every time he moved. His calm demeanor, mixed with his sociopathic mind makes him simply haunting. What made him the most frightening is that he is so believable. He is smart and deadly but also very much believable and very unique. Instead of the cast mold for villains in cinema (kill, kill, kill), McCarthy makes Chigurh more of like the Angel of Death, deciding who dies by the flip of a coin. His weapon of choice is unique, even how he talks is quite different from most villains of the day. I could easily see a story about a murder like this guy appearing in a paper. While Chigurh is silent and many would portray him as a one-dimensional antagonist, Bardem brings life and soul to the character. This is not the Coen's or McCarthy's work but Bardem's work that makes Javier Chigurh the greatest villain since Hannibal Lecter and one of the greatest in cinema history. Javier Bardem, to say the least, is simply brilliant.
I have few complaints about the film. Many people found a problem with the ending. I had no problems with it. I was thoroughly satisfied as I walked out of the late show. The Coens' make you think. They don't make everything obvious which most directors do. They make an audience think and that is what they do in No Country for Old Men. The movie takes us into the relationship of good and evil and some beautiful scenes are shown to explain how these two interact everyday. The film will shake you up, make you think, and always have you looking over your shoulder expecting to see the red eyes of Chigurh with his coin ready to decide your fate.
No Country for Old Men had me thinking about it for days after. The symbolic meanings of the characters and the speech at the end, the amazing, three-dimensional characters, the beautiful story that is crafted perfectly by McCarthy and adapted beautifully by the Coen's. I honestly wanted to see this movie again and again. Give the film time and don't cast your thumbs up or thumbs down on it until you have let it sit for a day and you have thought about it. I find it to be the best film since American Beauty and a beautiful film with a haunting villain.
5/5 stars