The Coen brothers return to the screen with a gloriously violent yet intelligent adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. Although reminiscent of their earlier neo-noir Blood Simple and the Oscar-winning Fargo, No Country for Old Men sees the Coens exploring altogether darker ground in this mesmerizing new thriller.
Set in Texas in 1980, the film centers around unlikely hero Llewenyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a likeable Vietnam vet who stumbles across the ugly aftermath of a drugs deal gone wrong. Ignoring the truck full of heroin he makes off with a briefcase containing two million dollars, and decides to go on the run. This decision inevitably turns his life into a nightmare pursuit, as unknown to him the briefcase is fitted with a tracking device.
Hot on his heels are psychopathic hit man Anton Chiguh (Javier Bardem), a bizarre, scene-stealing character armed with a cattle stun gun and a menacingly cool demeanor, and Sheriff Bell (Tommy-Lee Jones) a disillusioned local policeman and a rare witness of better days gone bye. Both characters embrace the film's dry nature and add a real sense of black comedy to the occasion, a trademark theme prevalent in much of the Coen brothers' work.
No Country for Old Men is much more than a straightforward genre thriller though, it digs deeper and examines the sadness beneath the brutality. The Sheriff’s distaste for the seemingly endless violence is a hark back to the old days, and much is made of his reminiscing, hence the title of the film. No Country for Old Men is definitely a return to form for the Coens; while the film does leave various questions open to interpretation it cries out quality. Roger Deakins' cinematography superbly captures the rugged Texan landscape in all its glory and the entire cast give universally impressive performances. A thoroughly entertaining affair, No Country for Old Men offers an interesting yet humorously confusing take on the thriller genre.
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