No Country for Old Men (Book) Review

 All of the acting was amazing and unforgettable, especially the evil villain, cold + calculating force of what I would term as death or the grim reaper- played by Javier Bardem. He was, in many ways, all-knowing, almost omnipotent in presence.    

This character known as, Anton Chigurh, was one of the most bone-chilling, sinister, and without feeling- of characters I have seen in recent years. He made your skin crawl. He was like a machine. The only comparison I can conjure up- is that it was reminiscent to the way I felt when I first viewed The Terminator - when that kind of terror was new. Maybe not half as violent, maybe not completely identical but he evoked a similar fear in me. This character seems unstoppable, indestructible, as if he is not human.

The action in "No country for old men" was non-stop, at the edge of your seat, slow, paced- out tension that just kept building. It had everything to do with the way it was shot and the sequence of scenes as well as the way it switched back and forth, between characters- just at the right moment. So, you were always there - waiting, and sometimes- yes, dreading it, too. But, it was the wonderful kind of suspense that thrill seekers love. As a whole, the film was down right phenomenal.

What most excited and enthralled me was the obvious theme. 

"You can't stop what's coming."

Without going too far into all of it- I believe the film was largely about morality. It was a good vs evil sort of thing. Naturally, the film begs you to root for the main character who is trying to do 'good', to do the right thing- Llewellyn Moss played by Josh Brolin - to conquer or escape the evil character- Anton Chigurh.

Other than MORALITY, I felt the film also had a tinge to do with 'MORTALITY' as well [i captitalized the words because it could be easily confused with the similar spellings.]

Death was an ever-present factor in the film, often due to greed and a lack of morals and conscience. But, even the ones who tried to do good, were of no use. There was a definite message in that.

The old timers in the film such as the sheriff played by Tommy Lee Jones were preoccupied with how the times had changed. There were several hints in the film to point this out. Mostly, I think that those characters were also simultaneously dealing with the reality that they were growing old and they would not live forever. That is where the mortality factor came in, for me. In closing, all I can say is that the main character in the ending scene seemed to be coming to terms with himself and life. All of this kind of connected to the main theme.