No Country for Old Men

I actually heard about this movie about a year and a half ago. At the time I was going through a phase almost all modern film fans should go through - hunt down every single movie the Coen Brother's have made. So I checked IMDb, the idea was interesting, but I had just finished my viewing of most of their films (except Crimewave and Blood Simple, so sue me) and with The Ladykiller's being their most recent film, I wasn't expecting much. Then the reviews from the Toronto film festival came out. Then the trailer came out, and I didn't just want to see this movie I NEEDED to see it.

If it wouldn't piss some people off this could be my entire review:

Best Movie of the Decade Thus Far.

Thank god for the Coen's. They have made another classic and a simply great film all around. Even with a fairly basic plot: A man, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong. He takes the two million dollars and goes off to live a good life. Of course, he realizes that one person must have lived through it and not have gotten the money. Moss knows he is in for a difficult time, but he doesn't know how difficult. We then meet the one who got away: Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Chigurh is a storm, a force of nature, wanting the money and only one can make it out of it all. Throughout the film we get updates on Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) as he follows their blood-ladden trail.

The Coen Brother's have constructed the next classic film. Their direction here is the best they have ever done. The cinematograhy here is incredibly beautiful, as you would expect from the Coen's. In fact, this is the only film where I have been so scared where I got chills. Chills literally ran up my spine and I jumped about a foot - even though I knew what was coming. That is the genius of the of the Coen's. At the beginning they tell you how Moss works and how Chigurh works, from there you can figure out everything that is going to happen and even when you see it coming, they build up the suspence to where it is almost intolerable which is then followed by violence that is almost as intolerable. This is all aided by the brilliant choice on their half to have no soundtrack playing. It is never a hinderance: it only helps, in a big bad way. Instead of the music building higher and higher cuing you how much time you have left until it happens, the Coen's put you right in the middle: you know what is going to happen, but you don't know when. The end is never clear who will win either: Moss or Chigurh.

Josh Brolin kicks some ass Llewelyn Moss. This has really been a break through year for Brolin with Grindhouse, In The Valley of Elah (didn't see it), American Gangster and now this. All of them he is incredibly bad ass. Here is very silent and calculating. He knows what he is facing, and he is trying to out do him. This would probably be a role that Brolin could get nominated for a Oscar for if he wasn't totally overshadowed by Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh.

You know those clip shows where they always show Hannibal Lector and Darth Vader? Add one more to that list. Anton Chigurh is the next film legend. He is a force of nature and Bardem adds so much power and danger to this role that everytime he is on screen you are scared for everybody else. Very few people see him without dying. You can notice that Bardem is shorter than some of the people he is playing opposite of, but you are never worried for him. One look into his eyes is to look into the eyes of someone who views human life as something useless, something that can be just tossed aside. He won't stop until he gets exactly what he wants. Even just hearing his footsteps inspires a sence of fear. Bardem has the Best Supporting Actor award locked up.

There has been some controversy surrounding the end of the film. I would not have had it any other way. If I made it, I could have done it differently, but I'm not a genious as the Coen's are. In fact, I felt the movie was even better for the choice that they made with the end. Yes, they messed with some big structure things in film, but they did it in a way that is brilliant and makes perfect sence and adds to the feeling it is trying to communicate.

Nothing has touched this film in quality so far. In fact, nothing has even seen its dust. Usually, I think less of a movie after a few days of seeing it (I'm writing this 4 days after I saw the movie for the first time) but this movie has not lost its impact.

The Coen's are back and thank God for them.