Superlative

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2009)

PLOT: A major drug deal gone wrong in the Texas desert goes further awry when the money is recovered by a veteran-cum-local-trailer-inhabitant. The local sheriff tries to restore equilibrium to their picturesque homeland, yet ultimately realises he can no longer maintain a patriarchal influence over his people and their fates.
REVIEW: There is much to be praised in the Coen Brothers' second masterpiece, which is different but equal to Fargo (1996). There's the menacing but somehow profoundly moral bounty hunter, played ghoulishly but with a touch of humour by Javier Bardem; the flawless, effortless performance of Tommy Lee Jones as the sheriff; the incredible cinematography; and the overall poetry of the picture.
Yet the greatest achievement of No Country for Old Men is a spine-tingling, soul-destroying sequence in the middle of the film chronicling the events before and after local veteran Josh Brolin realises that the two million dollar suitcase he has recovered contains a tracking device
ELEPHANT STAMPS: The Coen Brothers for Directing. Roger Deakins for Cinematography. Tommy Lee Jones for Acting. Javier Bardem for Acting. Josh Brolin for Acting.