No Country for Old Men (2007) (Spoiler Warning)

Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel No Country for Old Men deals with themes involving fate, doing what you feel is right, greed, and violent consequences by showing them to us rather then telling us how to feel about them. The novel shows parallels between man and nature, often foreshadowing the natural course of things without needless exposition as to what that truly means. We, as a reader, are left to describe that ourselves.

The Coen Brothers captured these themes with the same kind of ambiguity while also staying true to the source material. The opening landscape shot shows us desolation while Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) questions himself through narration on whether or not he did the right thing. The lack of music adds realism and adds to the theme of desolation very well. The ice cold lighting at some of the night time scenes fit Anton Chigurh's (Javier Bardem) personality perfectly and the light blue lighting at the motel shows us the deep trouble Llwellyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is about to get from Chigurh. And the sunny Texas landscape and the harsh yellow lighting at night remind us of hellfire.

Both the book and the movie left important questions we're asking open for interpretation so we can figure it out ourselves. For example, why did Llwellyn take the drug money? In both the book and the movie Llwellyn is shown to have slight reservations about taking the money, hinting at the fact that he knows the stakes of the game he's about to be playing. He does it anyway. We can venture to guess why without being told. His current conditions, living in a trailer park, not seeing much of a future for himself, providing for his young wife. All of these are obvious factors in his decision making, while simultaneously crafting a real, breathing character.

The Coen Brothers also used a lot of symbolism in this film, such as silhouetted reflections on an old TV set. The first reflection shows us Anton Chigurh, which gives us the impression that he's more than a murderous psychopath. The second reflection shows us Sheriff Bell, who later questions whether he did the right thing or not. Both reflections show us different characters in both men. Chigurh wears his normal clothes while Sheriff Bell is in uniform, showing us that Bell goes by the law and Chigurh makes his own rules yet both characters are doing what they think is right. There is also something to seeing both of these characters in the same setting at slightly different times. Nothing is different except the man sitting there. It allows the audience to focus on the extreme differences in the characters themselves. 

Chigurh is an interesting character both in the movie and the book. He's very creative, he makes his own rules, and he views his victims like cattle. This gives us the impression that he might be The Grim Reaper, more a specter than a man. Take a look at his famous coin toss for example. If the victim guesses heads or tails correctly, his or her life would be spared. If he or she loses the toss, the victim would parish. To Chigurh, this dichotomy is fate. He is not one choosing what happens, he is merely enacting what he views as destiny. This very tense scene is unsettling and allows us a clear view into the way Chigurh's mind works.

Through The Coen Brothers' commitment to ambiguity and faithfulness to the original text, we are given a movie that is able to translate deep themes from a book to the silver screen. It is not often that we, as an audience, are given films that are as rich, or as textured as the work they were able to put together.

RATING: 4/4