No. 16 - No Country for Old Men (2007)

THERE ARE NO CLEAN GETAWAYS

Rated: R (Restricted) for language and violence

Directors and Screenwriters: Joel and Ethan Coen

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin, Beth Grant

Movie Introduction: While out hunting on the Southwestern plain, Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) comes across the aftermath of a grisly drug deal gone wrong. Everyone is shot to hell and dead except one mortally wounded Mexican who begs Llewelyn for water. Llewelyn tracks the last man alive (the “ultimo hombre”), finding him under a lone tree, dead from his wounds, with a suitcase full of money. Llewelyn, whose been down on his luck since Vietnam, decides to keep the cash, but his guilt takes him back to the scene that night to take water to the dying man. Other drug thugs also come on the scene, and almost kill Llewelyn, but he escapes. However, they get is truck license number and those interested set a merciless killer, Chigurh (Bardem) on his trail. Also looking for Moss is local Sheriff Bell (Jones), an aging lawman, who often reflects on a changing world. Bell knows the situation and he wants to find Moss, to hopefully keep him alive. 

Defining Moment: the coin flip

Chiguruh, already established as a brutal murder, goes into a gas station and banters with the down-home owner about what he owes. He wants the owner’s fate to rest upon a coin flip, which the nervous owner reluctantly agrees to. The result of the flip reveals a side of Chigurh we did not know existed: a code he will not break.     

Something subtle you might have missed:  Woody's connection

Sometimes facts are too damn strange to make up. Apparently Woody Harrelson's father was a contract killer in real life. He died in federal prison in Colorado for the murder of Federal Judge John Howland Wood. He was paid $250,000 by Jimmy Chagra to perform the hit. Woody plays Carson Wells in this film. 

Memorable Quotes:

"If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?" - Anton Chigurh

“All the time you spend trying to get back what's been took from you, more is going out the back door. You can't stop what's comin', they aren't waitin' on you - that's vanity.” - Ellis

Dad's Review:

America’s appetite for drugs has created a deadly business called the drug trade. Most citizens are unaware of it. Every Texas lawman lives it every day. Every year it gets tougher to keep up. The bad guys are winning.

This is the setting for No Country For Old Men. A drug deal goes bad, and everyone dies. A savvy Vietnam vet, Llewelyn, stumbles across the death scene, and tracks the final living man. He finds him, dead from his wounds, under a lone tree on the plains. He is in possession of a suitcase full of money. A lot of money.  Llewelyn decides to keep the money. Bad idea.

On the trail of the money is merciless hired killer (and complete psychopath), Anton Chigurh. This guy is everyone’s worse nightmare. He has the tracking device to the money, so it’s only a matter of time until he catches up with it, and Llewelyn. This is gonna end badly.

Caught in the middle is Terrell County Sheriff Tom Bell. His main focus is to find Llewelyn, and try to keep him safe, because he knows the kind of killer that's hunting him.

Chigurh (portrayed expertly by newcomer Javier Bardem) is a compelling package of contradiction. He kills without hesitation especially if you are in his way. Yet he has a strange set of rules he follows without exception. He will refrain from murdering you if you show strength. He may also flip a coin to decide your immediate future. Otherwise, he'll use whatever tool he has available to terminate you without prejudice.  

Via phone, Chigurh tells Llewelyn that he’s headed to El Paso to kill his wife. He then offers: “So this is what I'll offer: you bring me the money and I'll let her go. Otherwise she's accountable, the same as you. That's the best deal you're going to get. I won't tell you (that) you can save yourself, because you can't.” By this point in the film, we know that he will follow through. 

Sheriff Bell is also a compelling character. A man on the verge of retiring. He has witnessed the crime in his part of the world get more and more severe. He also expected more out of life, as if somehow, he'd reach enlightenment in his old age. But none of that has happened. Here he remains, still a part of the violence. Unable to stop it, just hoping he can survive it.

This taut thriller will keep you on edge of your seat. The suspense is intense as Chigurh mercilessly pursues Llewelyn and the money. Our poor sheriff is always two steps behind, usually only able to witness the deadly aftermath of events he could not prevent. 

Onto No. 17: Space Venue: The Anger of Genghis