No Country For Old Men (2007)

 

If you are at all familiar with the work of the Coen Brothers, then you know they have this knack for disassembling the human condition through various characters. Often times their characters are quirky, but this is not the case here. No, in fact this is a slow burn and a chilling depiction of what happens when ill-advised decisions take a turn for the worst and there is no redemption at the end of the tunnel. 

It's friggin' brilliant. No wonder this one won a ton of awards. 

In the desert, our random protagonist (of sorts) Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon a drug deal gone horribly wrong: bodies everywhere and a truck full of drugs. But he also discovers a case containing a couple of million dollars and he decides to take this so as to improve his life somewhat. Moss isn't an idiot, but he doesn't seem to grasp that he is in way over his head, as sinister forces send a psychopathic hired killer on the trail of the money. Moss desperately tries to stay one step ahead, but as the bodycount rises and the killer closes in, it becomes clear that nothing can halt an outcome with only death. Meanwhile, a reluctant sheriff tries to make sense of all the violence, yet realises that whatever he does the toll will be high. 

This film does not need big setpieces to get its message across. In fact, everything is kept small and mundane, which not only makes it all the more realistic but also the more chilling. A very large part of that is Javier Bardem as the killer Anton Chigurh, who is so single minded and cold that he is rightfully hailed as one of the best portrayals of a psychopath ever. He is not angry or vengeful, he simply has a job to do and doesn't give a flying hoot who he has to kill as people seem so trivial and stupid to him. Then you have Josh Brolin who does everything in his power to stay one step ahead but who is severely outclassed as he has no idea what he's dealing with and then finally Tommy Lee Jones as the somewhat cynical sheriff who instantly knows this will not end well.

I mean: no one escapes scott free, no heroic battles, no glorious happy end. People die and few things get truly resolved. Yet it all is captivating and keeps you invested throughout the entire runtime. To further hammer home the realism, there is no music on the soundtrack which adds to the uncomfortable atmosphere of it all. 

Seriously: this is golden.

So if you want a brilliant character study and a realistic story that stays hardcore all the way, this is the film for you. Not only that, but this is a masterclass in suspense without any trickery. Might this be the best Coen Brothers' film? It just might, although they have so many contenders by this point.