NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

a film review by Malik Isasis
















When does two million dollars become a burden? Well, that all depends on how much two million dollars is worth; for some it is worth life itself. No Country For Old Men has the most basic plot, a protagonist who has come upon a case of stolen money and an antagonist who is looking for said case of money.

The basic plot makes way for a disturbing journey masterful filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen aka Coen Brothers have become famous for taken their audience on. Based upon Cormac Mccormick’s searing novel, No Country For Old Men the film follows Llewellyn Moss, played to the bone by Josh Brolin, when he comes upon a Mexican drug trade that has gone terribly wrong. As he investigates, he finds a truckload of heroin and a survivor badly wounded and dying of thirst.

“Agua.” The badly wounded man begs.
“Ain’t got no water.” Llewellyn says dispassionately, removing the man’s AK-47 and the banana clip from his hand.

Eventually, Llewellyn happens upon two million dollars and understandably takes the money home. Hitman Anton Chigurh played psychotically by the Spanish actor Javier Bardem is looking to reclaim his money.

Unlike the not-so-scary Keyser Söze figure in the 1995 film The Usual Suspects that brought fear to the lips of the characters in the film who spoke of his name, Chigurh just brings unadulterated, papable fear. This is possibly one of the scariest renditions of a killer I’ve ever seen. The performance by Javier Bardem, aided and abetted by the Coen Brothers is a true accomplishment.

There is a dog chase scene in this film that is one of the most compelling that I’ve ever scene.

The hopelessness author Cormac Mccormick so often etches in his narrative prose bleeds onto the screen. What I appreciate about Mccormick as a writer is that he doesn’t fall so in love with his characters, they are susceptible to violence and death just as secondary characters are and the Coen Brothers are true to his voice as well as their own.

This film is bleak and often the despair is contagious as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell played with absolute perfection by Tommy Lee Jones, narrates as more of a witness than a participant. If Brolin and Bardem are the hare, Jones is surely the tortoise. Sheriff Bell is burnt out by the dystopic violence and is almost overshadowed by the other characters. Bell confides to his brother that he is outmatched as the dead bodies stack up.

This is one of the best films of the year.

No Country manages to be a western, thriller, horror film and action film and the last 20 minutes of the film will have you emotionally and physically exhausted and yet with all that personal investment there is no payoff, no comfort, no satisfaction and no resolution. The film will end, but it won’t leave you.

GRADE: A+

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