No Country For Old Men

No Country for Old Men is an captivating movie with little words but a lot to show. For me, the movie asks a question: How much control do you really have in your life? And I am sure that if I watched this movie a year later, and a decade later, the movie will ask different questions. In a way, I think you get a lot more out of this movie the older you get.

On the surface, No Country is like an "action movie" where Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon 2 millon in drug money and as a consequence gets hunted down by a psychotic killer, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who wants the money for himself. Meanwhile, the star of this movie Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) tries to stop Chigurh.

At least, that is what happens when you look at the actions of these men. When you look deeper and actually listen to what these characters say, you would realize this is not an action movie. It is a movie about living. Throughout the movie, these men never agonized over what to do nor look back and ponder if they've made the right choice. No, these men are experts in their respective fields. Moss is a Vietnam war veteran who has seen more than his share of action in the past and it shows in the way he cunningly avoids Chigurh and figures out how he was being tracked. Chigurh is a masterful strategist who is able to anticipate what his prey would do, although he is not as sure about non-experts. Sheriff Bell easily anticipates both hunter and prey's moves. Watching No Country is like watching a trio of warriors in their dance of death, where every move is precise and accurate. And with warriors of this calibre, only one thing separates them; random luck.

The ending of this movie is anything but conventional. I wish I could reveal more but I'm afraid this would spoil the ending. And it is what happens in the last 5 minutes of this movie that turns it from an "action movie" to an introspective movie worthy of at least a few awards. Javier Bardem's performance as Anton Chigurh should easily earn him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The Coen Brothers also stand a good chance of winning Best Director or perhaps even Best Picture, although I think Best Picture is a long shot.