Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men

Ignorant souls will probably tell you that No Country for Old Men is a film of thirst for blood, material wealth and a sheriff's investigation. Those that suggest this, however, are the same that tune in weekly for their dose of Big Brother: The Evictions and are swayed by the words of their local car salesman. The Coen brothers’ masterful 2005 adaption of Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men is a standout in recent cinema history, pushing aside this year’s spit-out of Transformers from explosion-junkie Michael Bay. Taking a different approach from their usual quirky, humour films littered with three word profanities (cue: Burn after Reading Osbourne Cox fans), the Coen’s have successfully stepped into a dark, deeply disquieting drama that questions the very foundations of the American Dream.

No Country for Old Men, sees Texas Everyman, Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumble upon a sachet of money after a Mexican drug shoot-out. His decision to abscond with the cash sets off a vicious chain reaction with Mexican drug lords and American businessmen on his trail whilst disillusioned, lone star Sherriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) attempts to reach and warn Moss of his impending fate. A more sinister force, that has no interest in the money itself, takes the form of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a sociopath who rivals The Terminator for robotic and artificial undertones.

These three are locked in a swerving, cat-and-mouse chase that takes them through the empty ranges and lonely motels of a flyover state during the 80s. Always a step away from one another, the three hombres rarely appear on the screen together; their stories running on the same curve but differing with their respective tangents. As a collective, these three ...

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...n out-of-the-blue car accident that is seemingly caused by some sort of retribution godsend. Fate leads right up to the final scene in Sheriff Bell’s residence. Speaking to his wife, the now retired sheriff discusses his dreams. Throughout the film Bell has spoken of his disillusionment of the contemporary world – the collapse of morality and the uncasing of the devil within – and he does not disappoint here. Describing the death of his father, Bell, using the dream as a metaphor for passing, points to the decaying disorder that society has become but more so the death of tradition and the old way of life. The life that he knew.

And the minutes fly by, leaving behind some unsettling notions about the bloody, absurd intransigence of fate and the noble futiligy of human efforts to master it. Mostly, though, No Country for Old Men leaves behind the jangled, stunned