No Country for Old Men

By Al Wallace

I feel like I'm the last person to finally see actor Javier Bardem.
An award winning edgy actor that has taken a lot of difficult roles in
a long career all over the globe.  In "No Country for Old Men", he
plays a coin flipping psychotic killer for hire. Beyond that he also
has a code of his own.  When he makes a deal or a promise, he'll do
whatever it takes to get the job done.  Hired by a man in Texas to
find a suitcase full of cash, from a drug deal gone wrong, (and if you
pay attention planned wrong as well. ) he is on the trail of the man
that finds the money from the deal.  Be wary of the review from Roger
Ebert ! He found the hole in the plot and figures it out...kinda of.
However even he missed or rather fails to spell out the other hole in
the plot with the Texas Businessman played by Stephen Root.  But this
is the beauty of the movie.  Not every detail has to be told. We are
left to figure out many of the small items on our own.  Even the
subtlety of what year is it?
We are witness to a somewhat new device in killing for a movie, a
compressed gas cattle stun gun that propels a cylinder into the heads
of cattle and then retracts, it also has double duty as a door lock
opener.
Tommy Lee Jones plays an almost stereotypical monotoned West Texas
Sheriff trying to find the man with the money to save him and stop the
maniac killer. He is also the Narrator in many parts and has a dry
Western wit that is delivered with an uncompromising skill that only a
true veteran can deliver.  Funny thing is I was through all these
towns this spring, Del Rio, El Paso and a dozen other West Texas towns
that are about the same.  Pay attention to some of the old
architecture.  West Texas towns have a lot of variety in building
types and a rich history of architectural types. You can date
buildings but looking closely at them.

This movie is expertly written, has some great dialog and character
studies into the lives of these people and leaves a lot of the plot
for you to figure out.  In short,  pay attention to all the small
details. You'll be able to piece it together but not all the grizzly
details nor the finer points are made obvious. Rather the Coen
brothers let you discover and come to the conclusions one by one as
they happen, but without being overt or in your face.  Instead by
interpreting the dialog and following the action from scene to scene
we put together the scenario.  Some of the scenes that Barden delivers
with his coin flopping have some of the best dialog, and although the
conversations seem to be going nowhere at times each person knows a
life is really at stake.

This is a classic thriller, killer and chase movie ( minus all the
computer graphics and show boating for the audience from Hollywood
types) and as good as it gets. Great acting, great script, dialog,
compelling story.  I expect this to get some award nominations and if
the subject matter doesn't bother you, a must see! Critical reviews
all A's and 4 stars and it was no wonder.