No Country For Old Men

Running time 122 minutes
Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin
By Kristin McCutcheon

No Country For Old Men, adapted from Pulitzer Prize winning author Cormac McCarthy, tells the story of modest welder and hunter Llewellyn Moss's (Josh Brolin) unfortunate run-in with a trail of dead, drugs, two million dollars and a ruthless killer that stops at nothing to get what he wants. Written and directed by the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, this movie has the right amount of suspense, comedy and drama to make it an instant classic.

The movie begins with a backdrop of its setting, the 1980's in Texas, and the voice of an aging sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) speaking about the continuous rise in crime and violence. Soon, everyman Llewllyn Moss stumbles upon the corpses of Mexicans appearing to have undergone a bad drug deal and finds the money that should have been in the hands of the second party. Moss is smart enough to know that someone, more specifically, assassin Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), will be searching for the loot. The movie follows Moss's run from motel to motel trying to escape the emotionless killer that hunts him. Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) keeps on the trail of this cat and mouse hunt throughout the film.

Academy award winner for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Javier Bardem, plays the intriguing and brutal antagonist, Anton Chigurh. The role of Chigurh needed to have the right comedic to barbaric ratio to be successful and a believable character; Bardem captured that in every sense. Josh Brolin portrays Llwellyn as a man that was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The most starred actor, Tommy Lee Jones, has very powerful moments and monologues, as he is realizing more about his county and things much bigger than himself. Supporting roles from Woody Harrelson and Kelly Macdonald also add flair to the film, but in small doses.

From scene to scene, the film is always unpredictable. While you are sitting there thinking you know what is going to happen next, you are slightly surprised to see you are repeatedly wrong. In turn, this keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Another aspect that adds to the suspense is the fact that there is very little music if any at all used. The sound was simple, yet eerie, being only the sounds the characters made through movement and speech.

A well deserving film of four wins out of eight Academy award nominations, winning Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Other nominations were for film editing, cinematography, sound editing and sound mixing. There is not one unnecessary gesture, word or action in the whole of this film. It will keep you enticed. You will leave astounded.