Thought provoking

Rating: 8/10 (23 June 2019)

The film opens on a hunting trip with Llewelyn (Josh Brolin), who upon tracking his kill finds what is left from a drug deal gone wrong. Llewelyn after scavenging the scene for guns and a black briefcase full of money learns that the taking the black case has other consequences for him. The roles in this film get reversed as the Hunter becomes the hunted as he is tracked down by the hired murderer with a unique sets of values, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) and Local sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones).
No Country for Old Men is not just the classic cat and mouse chase film, this film is fast paced at times, and very slow and methodical with its pacing at others. Llewelyn despite his better judgement uses all of his will, smarts, and knowledge learned from hunting to avoid and escape Chigurh, and we are left wondering and waiting to see if he can escape his impending doom before it's too late. Meanwhile Anton is the hired killer constantly on the trail of Llewelyn, throughout the film the viewer is treated to Antons unique techniques and explanations for who he kills and why?
Also, on the chase is Sheriff Bell. Bell an aging sheriff spends his time split between the decision to pursue Anton and to save Llewelyn. During the film Bell struggles with the idea of pursuing dangerous situations and potential life ending battles with criminals who he has no place trying to stop. For obvious reasons, Bell struggles with finding his place in a world with criminals that are all much bigger than this small time Sheriff can truly be capable of understanding
Each character in No Country for Old Men serves a unique purpose to drive the plot, and to always keep you at the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. The camera angles, and drama building scenes (Such as the coin flip scenes) help to make sure the viewer is always paying attention and helps build drama and action in a way that many other films have not. In the end this film uses highly gruesome and old-fashioned violence coupled with artful directing and cinematography to drive the film's final theme home, "Nobody can ever escape fate or death".