The Coen Brothers' latest film is a richly layered thriller filled with memorable characters that, unfortunately, leaves the viewer wanting much more. Set in Texas in the year 1980 (the year isn't made explicit until near the end) it centers on a bag of money from a heroin deal gone bad and the people whose lives it affects. Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) stumbles across the bag while hunting out in the middle of nowhere, and things are further complicated when he comes back later that night to bring water to a dying man who was apparently part of the deal, only to find the man dead and a new truck pulling up next to his own. Llewelyn barely escapes with his life, and a psychopathic killer-for-hire named Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem) is set on Llewelyn's trail. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (played by Tommy Lee Jones) is soon after sent to investigate the scene of the drug deal/shoot-out, and he figures out the trouble that Llewelyn has gotten himself into. The basic plot is only half the movie, and after the major climax the film goes into more contemplative territory, finishing with an ending that had many viewers confused and frustrated.
This movie was apparently very loyal to the book on which it was based, and that's what's caused some of the negative feedback by viewers and critics. The problem is that devices that work in a book don't always work in movies; people expect closure and a familiar type of plot. Even though I too was disappointed with this film's ending, I would absolutely recommend it to my friends, and I'll see it again if I have the chance. The characters are well-developed, and the villain is absolutely chilling, one of the best movie villains of all time. Like an earlier Coen brothers film, Fargo, No Country for Old Men paints a vivid picture of a unique part of America at a certain point in history that feels familiar, but still somehow foreign.
Here are some reviews from Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
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