No Country For Old Men

Pulitzer Prize winning author, Cormac Mcarthy(The Road) and film making absurdests extraordinaire, Joel and Ethan Cohen team up for No Country For Old Men.

Llewelyn Moss is out hunting in the desert when he comes across the left over carnage of a drug deal gone wrong. He investigates and finds a briefcase filled with 2 million dollars. He takes the money and runs. However, the owner of the briefcase Anton Chigurh wants his money back and comes looking for Llewelyn. A world weary sherriff Ed Tom Bell played almost typcasted by Tommy Lee Jones is trying to protect Llewelyn. When the three collide in a showdown not seen since Good, The Bad and The Ugly, well, "No one will see it coming"

Josh Brolin is excellent as Llewelyn. He's an ex-soldier and is fully aware of the consequences once he grabs the money. He uses his smarts to escape Anton, but in No Country For Old Men, the theme is,"No one sees it coming"

As for Tommy Lee Jone's character, Ed Tom Bell; this is a character Jones has portrayed many times before. He knows Bell inside and out. It's borderline cliche having Jones play this character, but in the Cohen brothers hands it goes deeper. Bell has regrets and Anton is a proven adversary. The most poignant scene with Bell occurs when he explains Anton's weapon of choice to Llewelyn's wife Carla, played by Kelly Macdonald. Almost perfect in its subtlety.

Which brings us to Anton Chigurh. Javier Bardem is nominated for an Oscar in this role. He's meaner than Darth Vader , more malicious than Jaws; Bardem transforms Chigurh into arguably cinema's most potent villain.

Anton uses an air gun that is used to slaughter cattle. It's a creative tool in this film. Then again, the Cohen brother's key word is creative. Anton flips a coin to decide his victim's fate. Or as Carson Wells played by Woody Harrelson says to Llewelyn,"Did he see you? And you're still alive?" Anyone who Anton sees; dies. this is the code--"You never see it coming"

--After the film was over, I proposed to my girlfriend Mary Beth. She said yes! Like the film, she never saw it coming.

The Cohen Brothers are the most innovative and intelligent film makers since Kubrick. They are to cinema what Samuel Beckett was to liturature. No Country For Old Men is a marvel in film. Best Picture in 2008.

***** (out of 5)


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