No Country for Old Men

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2008)

No Country for Old Men: Three out of Four Directed by the Coen Brothers, this intense roller coaster of a movie pulled the audience into a web and never let go. Although it's a simple thought story from a novel from the same title of Cormac McCarthy, the movie's themes are quite different from its simple plot. It deals with others fate, free will, and man's path of changing the course in one self. The film took a leisure pace constructing its theme with the characters'.
One-day a man named Llewelyn was hunting at the Rio Grande. He stumbled upon some trucks, which happened to be a drug deal gone wrong. Llewelyn found some heroin and two million dollars. While taking the money back home, he realized that there was a man still alive at the sight. Feeling guilty, he went back to the sight. When reaching to his destination, the gangster saw him and went after him. He then knew that he and his wife had to hide. The story unfolds toward another character Anton, a man who believes that their place and time are for a reason. His character uses the symbolism of a coin to represent life and death. Although hired by the organization to get the money, he went on a killing spree instead. Llewelyn, trying to keep Anton away, hides money in a motel. Llewelyn, being chased by this evil force, Anton, is trying to hide and escape. Another essential character is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (played by Tommy Lee Jones). He is coming of age, losing his values through experiencing others violence, unable to explain criminals' actions, and coming to realize that some people cannot be explained. Caught in the tail end of Llewelyn's conflict, he tries to help Llewelyn get away from Anton, this force of evil that cannot be stopped. It's although Anton is a ghost that can't get caught.
Josh Brolin plays Llewelyn Moss. He's the character where you are placed. He is an average guy, married, and a simple man passing in time that deals with a very complex situation. Anton Chigurh, played by the very capable Javier Bardem, had very few words to speak on camera. Making up for a lack of words, his presence, body movements, expressions, and interactions with others made for an unsettling feeling.
Joel and Ethan Coen's use of very slick camera work, with both complex and simple shots, made for an intense ride. They used the atmosphere of the desert to show of things to come. The little details in the movie are what helped the film keep it's intense unsettling nature. An example is of when Llewelyn was at one of the motels, waiting for Anton at the door, and the shadows of Llewelyn and Anton's feet at the bottom of the door kept the scene intensely unsettling. The ending itself will leave many questions for viewers of why the Coen's ended the movie in the way they did. Some may find it a waste of time and others will like to debate its ending. There are many interpretations for it's ending and some people will watch it again and again for that reason.