Two Problems with No Country For Old Men

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2008)

No Country For Old Men is a very refreshing film, especially for its courage to be non-formulaic. There is indeed much to like about the picture as evidenced by the many great reviews it has received.
However, in replaying the film in my mind there were two things that I thought were problematic beyond redemption.
Firstly, the killer, Anton Chigurh, had zero character development. It's fine that he speaks little and certainly his actions convey a lot, but I desperately needed to know more about him, how he became this unique psychopath.
Secondly, Chigurh does not face any resistance to his many acts of violence, except once. In fact, whenever he strikes it is as if he is in a ghost town or the whole world has turned its back on him to give him privacy. This could happen a few times surly, but not constantly like it does.
I really was rooting for this film to work completely, but unfortunately these holes were more than I could circumvent.