'No Country for Old Men' is rich in such bravura kind of film-making. Also remarkable is the photography (done by Roger Deakins) of vast scenes in the desert where even what the ordinary moviegoer would consider as "empty scenes", where no action is played out, tells a story in a visual manner, where even when there is no dialogue or action on screen, the sweeping images speak out for themselves. This is achieved by very careful editing and sound direction that perfectly recreates the tense atmosphere whenever a particular scene is being played out. The Coen brothers' direction of the particularly intense chase scenes between Chigurh and Moss are masterful, evoking emotions of suspense to the highest level and pushing the audience to the very edge of their seats. The movie features the perfect mix thrill and excitement that would be expected out of a movie in this genre. The third party and the moral center of the story is the guy trying to find both the hunter and the hunted, Ed Tom Bell, the old sheriff of a peaceful, but increasingly becoming violent locality in West Texas. The story revolves around the chase between a guy named Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin,) who stumbles upon a stash of money in a drug deal gone wrong in the middle of the desert and a psychopathic but surprisingly "principled" assassin named Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). On the literal level, it is a simple cat-and-mouse chase thriller movie, but from within its roots lie a very profound philosophical and penetrating analysis not only of the characters and the situations involved in the story, but also of the kind of world we are living in today and the more monstrous sides of it we often choose to ignore. This is the kind of movie that will make you think, the kind that stays with you even after a long time has passed since you've last watched it. It took me another viewing to fully appreciate the meaning and intention of the film, and while the experience from watching the film is not one everybody will enjoy and understand, it certainly is one of the most moving and thought-provoking movies I have ever watched. And yet, mixed with the feeling of shock is the profound sense of wonder and awe with what I have just witnessed on the screen. It's not easy to watch 'No Country for Old Men.' The first time I saw it, I found myself dazed enough to not be able to stand-up immediately even after the whole end credits have finished. It was not very long before I watched 'No Country for Old Men' that I watched the other remarkable film of 2007, 'There Will Be Blood.' Back then I thought that Paul Thomas Anderson has delivered the Best Picture of the year with his oil epic, but after watching the Coen brothers chilling and violent adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel, I knew right away that here was a film destined to be even a greater film than any I've seen this past year. Where it'll get mixed in with the others and become just a coin. Gas Station Proprietor: Where do you want me to put it?Īnton Chigurh: Anywhere not in your pocket. Heads then.Īnton Chigurh: Don't put it in your pocket, sir. Gas Station Proprietor: Look, I need to know what I stand to win.Īnton Chigurh: You stand to win everything. It's been traveling twenty-two years to get here. You know what date is on this coin?Īnton Chigurh: 1958. You've been putting it up your whole life, you just didn't know it. Gas Station Proprietor: I didn't put nothin' up.Īnton Chigurh: Yes, you did. Gas Station Proprietor: Well, we need to know what we're calling it for here.Īnton Chigurh: You need to call it. Anton Chigurh: What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?Īnton Chigurh: The most.
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