No Country For Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2008) Review

I don't know how to begin with this, it's a fantastic film. It has a great cast, an excellent story, spectacular acting and four Academy Awards grabbed. What more can I say, surely that is enough to convince you to watch this film...right now...no I haven't gone anywhere. Watched it yet? No? I'll just have to continue then.

Llewelyn Moss (Joss Brolin) stumbles upon what's left of a shoot out site, filled with corpes and bullets. He finds a satchel containing two million dollars and takes it make to his trailer. Knowing that any survivors of the shoot out would look for the money, he sends his wife Carla Jean (Kelly MacDonald) away so she won't be harmed. A hitman, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is sent to retrieve the money and, upon finding that it's been taken, proposes to track down Llewelyn, dead or alive...knowing Anton, probably dead. Meanwhile, A cop, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), is trying to apprehend Anton once and for all. 

Javier Bardem. JAVIER BARDEM. Talk about perfect casting. He looks the part, sounds the part and just gives a tremendous and creepy performance as Anton Chigurh. Think Heath Ledger as The Joker just more monotone and you'll have Anton. Bardem has been praised countless times and is the first Spanish actor to win an Academy Award which he one for this film! Every scene he is in is a treat to watch and for some reason I couldn't stop smiling, even laughing at times. I don't know, maybe I'm just a psychopath. He is unrelenting yet still manages to get a good laugh...from me anyway.

If you read my review of Prometheus then you'll know how confused I was and I felt it was too ambiguous. I should state that there are two types of ambiguous films. Ones done right and ones done wrong. Prometheus was done wrong as it just left with nothing and I felt more annoyed than wanting to ponder but No Country For Old Men does it right. You actually get engaged and wonder about the things left out and with the sudden and ambiguous ending, you really want to think about it afterwards.

No Country For Old Men is hands down the best film from the Coen Brothers which is helped greatly by the fantastic writing and characters. They should be extremely proud of what they have produced and if you haven't seen it, you are missing out. One of the greatest films of this generation!

Verdict:
9.5/10
A spectacular film that uses ambiguity to it's advantage. It's essential that you watch this...right now!