Dark, Relentless Intensity in its Purest Form

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2016)

No Country for Old Men is an intensely unforgiving film experience, one which is built on the back of six things: 1. Intense, often darkly humorous writing. 2. Beautiful, evocative cinematography. 3. Slow but relentless pacing. 4. Stark, disturbing violence. 5. A deeply cynical, yet resolute worldview. 6. An unstoppable antagonist, more force of nature than man.
It's rare to find a film that is as beautiful as it is cynical, as intense as it is slowly paced, or as humorous as it violent. As one might expect, this odd combination of attributes does not work for everyone, and some of the most prominent user reviews on this site certainly confirm this to be the case. However, if you can get past the discomforting nature of the film and you aren't already someone with a dislike for the Cohen brothers' style, you will almost certainly be impressed. You are in for what many consider to be a masterpiece, myself included.
But why, specifically, should No Country for Old Men be deserving of the title of "masterpiece"? As with almost every Cohen brothers film, the answer isn't easily summarized. While I can't speak for others, I think there is brilliance in the way that the six elements above are synthesized into a grim but vibrant story, one that explores the human components of evil, the inhuman components of human actions, and the innate longing to return to a better past that may have never actually existed.
But ultimately that question, "why?", is the same one that the Sheriff character is left trying to answer throughout the film in the wake of various seemingly pointless acts of violence. Instead of answering that question, the writers leave it up to the viewer to contemplate, just as it is up to the viewer to decide whether such a conclusion is brilliant, empty, or both.