After a few painful dalliances with inane and unremarkable narratives, Joel and Ethan Coen, whose 1996 film Fargo remains one of the most enduring modern American classics, finally find a story suitable to their talents. Based on Cormac McCarthy's acclaimed novel of the same name, No Country for Old Men follows the opportunistic Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) who stumbles on the scene of a drug deal gone bad and takes it upon himself to swipe a satchel full of cash left behind by the newly deceased deal makers. Little does he know that the cash is sought after by the world's most ruthless assassin, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem in the role of a lifetime). Once Moss realizes the threat against him, he sends his sweet and nervous wife Carla Jean (Kelly MacDonald) off to visit her mother and makes a run for it. And so begins one of the most terrifying and chilling chases in the history of the cinema. Bardem and Brolin (later to be joined by Woody Harrelson and Tommy Lee Jones in a key role) exchange gun shots and death plots in a game of cat and mouse that crosses borders both literally and figuratively, driving the two to deeper and darker extremes in order to get what they want.There's more to No Country for Old Men than just the thrill of the chase but that alone would be enough to make it a grade A film. Tommy Lee Jones as the aging, world weary Sheriff Ed Tom Bell takes hold of the film through his sparse narration and ultimately directs us to a softer, philosophical closing. His wise words suggest the kind of soulful intelligence that rises beyond the bloodthirsty situation displayed through the bulk of the film. He possesses such a simple goodness and gentle kindness that he truly senses (as do we) that his generation is not even from the same world as characters such as Chigurh, a man so vile and invincible that it's difficult not to imagine his metaphoric functions as the human incarnation of either evil or death in the ever more disheartening American landscape.
Unsurprisingly, this is by far the best film the Coen Bros. have made since Fargo and will probably be remembered years in the future as one of their overall best. It doesn't possess the same intoxicating effortlessness that gave Fargo the feeling of being an instant classic, but it does show the signs of a talent ripening to the point where greatness doesn't strike by chance but rather emerges from the careful crafting of knowing hands.
Grade: A
