A good film but NOT a great one

Rating: 7/10 (4 March 2008)

I expected a lot from this movie.Showered with awards,raved about by the critics and it looked excellent from the trailers I had seen.So what did I think?I thought it was a good movie but most definitely not a great one.I need to explain why.
The film started so promisingly and had me pretty much hooked.But at the end of the movie I felt distinctly underwhelmed and that is a shame.I just felt that the ending was too open ended given what had gone on before.The acting is very good and although Javier Bardem is the one that seems to have received the most glowing tributes,I felt that Josh Brolin,Kelly Macdonald and especially Tommy Lee Jones were equally as good.The cinematography and sound are excellent and the direction by the Cohen brothers is tight and crisp.But,and it's a big but,this film promised so much and ended up feeling almost unfinished.Yes,I know a lot of you out there who are reading this will think that I don't know what I am talking about,but this is my opinion and NCFOM just wasn't as good as I expected.
This isn't a terrible film by any means but the ending is pretty weak and I reckon that I'm not the only one that will think so.I won't give away any of the plot to those who haven't yet seen the movie,but there are just too many unanswered questions and more than one instance where you are left wondering just what happened.Did it deserve the best picture Oscar?I honestly can't say as I have yet to see the other contenders.I will be very surprised though if I will judge this as the best of the bunch.