No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men introduces us to ruthless killer Anton Chigurh and his gruesome air gun. A fascinating murder, phenomenal writing, and obvious attention to the visual details, No Country for Old Men is a truly adult horror drama.

Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is hired to go after Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) when Moss stumbles across, and steals, two million dollars in drug money. Sherriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) follows Chigurh across Texas, trying to stop the killing. Chigurh's demented nobility makes him ruthless in his pursuit. Moss's greed makes him desperate to hang on to the money. Sherriff Bell always seems to be one step behind.

The story is simple, but the execution is bold, in your face, and captivating. The characters are simple and uncomplicated but not feeble. They remind me of modern design; the beauty is in the simplicity. You don't have to spend much time wondering what a character is going to do, you've pretty much figured it out in the first ten minutes but unlike most movies, who have overly easy to understand characters, No Country for Old Men's cinematic execution and dialogue make the movie impossible to pull your eyes from.

The dialogue was, by far, my favorite part of the movie. Lines like, "That's very linear of you." or "What are we going to put in the APB? A man who has recently drunk milk?" and "I've seen near everything, I work at Wal-Mart." are the core of the movie. None of the lines are written as jokes and yet in their context are funny because they are perfectly reflective of the helplessness, ignorance or strangeness of the character, or their situation. No Country for Old Men's dialogue helps frame the simplicity of the characters but gives the movie its distinctive edge.