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Rating: 5 out of 5
Wow! Just Wow! I watched No Country for Old Men when it first came out, and I remember how intense of a film it was, along with the premise of this cat-and-mouse chase going on in the movie. A few years later and recently, I decided I wanted to watch it again for some reason. I know the reason; I was watching the fantastic YouTube channel, Watchmojo. One of the episodes was the top 10 endings people didn’t like, and this film came up. Holy shit, was I in for a ride because I forgot how fantastic of a performance Javier Bardem was and just the overall atmosphere and tone of this film. Strap in because you are about to be introduced to the biggest psychopath to grace the screen.
Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen while being based on Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 novel of the same name, No Country for Old Men is a story of a man who finds money, the hitman after him, and the old-time police officer trying to save him. No Country for Old Men is set in 1980 West Texas. During a hunting trip down by the US-Mexico border, Vietnam vet and welder Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) comes across a group of vehicles. As he investigates, he sees that it was a major shootout with everyone dead. After searching one of the vehicles, he finds one filled with drugs. He also finds a satchel filled with $2 million, which he quickly takes with the plan that he will kill anyone that comes after it. Knowing this, Llewelyn decides it would be best to send his loving wife, Carla Jean (Macdonald), away for her own protection. With the money gone, Anton Chigurh (Bardem) is hired to retrieve the money. To achieve his primary goal, Anton will kill anyone, including the innocent. Anton travels around with a high-pressure air pistol, his weapon of choice, especially as it leaves no bullet as evidence. Chigurh quickly learns that Moss has the money with a tracking device planted in the satchel and is on the run. Terrell County Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones) and his dimwitted deputy Wendell (Dillahunt) are on both of their trails. Bell is a third-generation sheriff who has been contemplating his future as the violence in his region has increased to levels he can’t control. As Bell begins his investigation, he finds evidence that Moss has the money and that someone is after him while leaving a trail of carnage behind him. As Bell tries to find a way to protect Moss, the organization that hired Chigurh has also hired Carson Wells (Harrelson) to retrieve the money. Wells knows Chigurh well and knows he will not take too kindly to anyone else brought in on his job. As everyone tries to find each other, many people will die in their crosshairs.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh was amazing, terrifying, and straight-up EVIL. Bardem had a presence about him that transcended this film, and every time he was on screen, you knew something terrible would happen. Take the first 5 minutes of the film. We are introduced to Anton as he is picked up by an officer. At the police station, he calmly gets up and strangles the officer to death. He drives in the police car, finds someone, and brutally kills him. The truly terrifying scene is the quarter scene. That one scene will send chills down your spine as he is betting on someone’s life. Telling the man that it’s his lucky quarter will leave you goosebumps because dude didn’t know how on the line his life was. Bardem was perfect because he showed Anton as a relentless killer with a code and always keeps his promises. When he promised to kill Moss’s wife, he showed up and did it long after getting the money.
I want to give it up to the Cohen Brothers. They presented a thrilling story. It is one thing to have a cat-and-mouse game, but this one was different. You have Moss, who finds the money and knows he shouldn’t take it, but greed overcomes him. You have a killer who would stop at nothing to do his job and kill anyone around him. The hunt for Moss is scary because you don’t know when Anton will strike. He blows the lock and then kills everyone with his silenced shotgun. The story shows that Moss can only keep half a step ahead of Anton. The realization and confidence in himself are blinding as he doesn’t seem to see that the end is upon him. The hotel scene is one where you would be left on the edge of your seat.
On the film side of that is the investigation of Bell. Bell is that old-time police officer who has policing in his blood and has been doing it for a long ass time. When he rolls with his dimwitted deputy, Bell seems to have a sixth sense of what is happening. He investigates the scene and notices little things like the milk and the lock being blown out. He seems to be on the trail but is always a step behind and can never catch up. He promises Carla Jean that he would protect her husband but knows deep down that he will fail. The scene that tells it all is when he goes to a hotel and sits on the bed. You tried.
I want to say that the ending was a little meh. For one and here is a spoiler alert. Moss is killed off-screen by a group of Mexicans that gain information from Carla Jean’s mother. The last we see of Moss is talking to a woman by the poll. The next scene is Bell driving up to the motel, and he sees gunfire and a group of people driving away. As he pulls up, he sees the woman dead in the pool and Moss dead in his hotel room. I would say this left many unsatisfied because you thought Bell would be a conquering hero and save Moss from Anton and everyone else. The ending is Bell, retired, and talking to his wife about his dreams.
I also want to give a big shout-out to Joel and Ethan Coen. The direction that they produced and developed during this film is top-notch. I have seen quite a few of their movies, and this is by far the best film they ever made, and that is saying something because they know how to direct.
We already talked about Bardem, but I want to discuss the two other actors. First, Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss was cool. He really didn’t say much besides running for his life. He seemed to think he would outsmart Anton and had no idea who he was going up against. He wasn’t the highlight like Bardem. Tommy Lee Jones was that old man who had seen so much and getting ready for retirement. I like Jones’ character as he had it up to here with his deputy and sees the end of his career.
No Country for Old Men is a phenomenal film. The story is excellent and thrilling and will keep you on the edge of your seat even if you don’t like the ending. Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh is one of the greatest and most terrifying villains and characters to ever grace the scene. Watch this Coen’s film and enjoy it to the fullest.
