No Country For Old Men Review

Lately, it's rare to find a movie that actually meets your expectations, much less exceeds them. With my sometimes picky tastes, it's even rarer for me. Therefore it was a pleasant surprise when "No Country For Old Men" managed to be even better than I had expected it to be.

The film is the latest from the Coen Brothers (Fargo, The Big Lebowski) and stars Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, and Tommy Lee Jones. The story revolves around Brolin's character, Llewelyn Moss, who stumbles across a drug trade gone very, very wrong, and acquires a large sum of money. He then becomes a target for a psychopathic assassin, Anton Chigurh (Bardem), who's unconventional choice of weaponry is almost as strange as his hairstyle. Meanwhile, The local Sheriff (Jones) is trying to piece together what is going on. The story is an intense game of cat and mouse between these characters that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout.

It was interesting to see just how well the Coen Brothers managed to immerse you in the film from the very start. The cinematography, the character development, and the dialog, all work in unison to craft what I think will be considered a modern classic years from now. Javier Bardem's performance as the baritone-voiced, ruthless murderer is quite impressive and far scarier than any slasher movie released in recent memory.

What has most people divided on this one is the ending. Basically, some people have said that it's too abrupt. But it makes perfect sense when you realize the story is like a game of chess, and you never know when it's checkmate.

If you like the best Coen Brothers films and other similar stories like Sam Raimi's fantastic "A Simple Plan", this film should suit you just fine.