Brilliantly directed, even better acted

Rating: 8/10 (10 February 2008)

Ethan and Joel Coen are officially back in action. After "The Man Who Wasn't There" we all waited for another masterpiece ("Intolerable Cruelty" and "The Ladykillers" are only solid) from productive Coens. But I'm happy that the waiting time is over; "No Country for Old Men" is here and Coen's are better then ever. They decided to make a movie based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy and the whole movie is nominated for 8 Oscars.
Story is about Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), who goes out hunting and he founds lots of dead bodies, drugs and bag full of money near Rio Grande. Old sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) has to solve this case and on Llewelyn's way is also crazy killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) who wants the money for himself.
What is excellent in this movie? Well, I would say almost everything. Direction is perfect, with great shots and movements of camera. Also Coen's know how to make actors shine. Tommy Lee Jones (he's always brilliant), Josh Brolin (surprisingly good), Kelly Macdonald (great), Woody Harrelson (excellent short performance) and Barry Corbin (just like Harrelson) are staring in it. But there is one man that stands alone in this perfect cast: Javier Bardem. His last performance in "Love in the Time of Cholera" is wooden, but here he surprised everyone. He trows coins (just like Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face), he's 100% crazy, 100% original and 100% brilliant. He represents ultimate evil in this movie.
"No Country for Old Men". Title is very important and the first lines indicate what is this movie about: "I always liked to hear about the old timers. Never missed a chance to do so. You can't help but compare yourself against the old timers. Can't help but wonder how they would've operated these times." There is the importance of the whole story. Old sheriff Ed Tom Bell is surprised with the time that he lives in. Most important conversation is between Ed Tom and old Ellis. Ellis says that there's always been crimes and evil is always here. But they are too old to fight with it and that's why there is no country for old men - "This country's hard on people, you can't stop what's coming, it ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity." And also my favorite dialog (if you put aside all Bardem's ones) is the last lines between Ed Tom and his wife; when he's describing his dream (watch it carefully cause that is the last scene).
Coen's are here and their movie is one of the top 10 this year. Masterpiece of a movie that you need to watch. I watched it twice and I want more. More of Bardem, more of Coen's and more of this spectacular movie that has hidden meaning. Cause "No Country for Old Men" is not only a chase for Llewelyn Moss and bag of money or some pointless killing path of Anton Chigurh. No, that is not Coen's way of directing movies; "No Country for Old Men" is intelligent and strong movie.