No Country for Old Men, 2007, Coen Brothers. Fine film. Reminiscent of Fargo in the good ways: not a funny film but many instances of humor, superb dialogue, engaging and eccentric villian, and of course a wise but humble cop tying it all together. Also, I'm told by a gentleman with the good fortune not to be seated in the front row that the photography was excellent, particularly in the first 30 minutes. From my poor vantage point, I can't confirm this but I strongly suspect it's correct.
Now let me tell you why I can give a complete, aggressive, and untempered recommedation of this film. There are two reasons actually, and I'll give you the short one first: Javier Bardem. I have no idea what constitutes an Oscar-type performance and I don't know if he will be in the conversation but that doesn't really matter because he was extremely good in this film. His character, and the way he played it--all the way down to his enunciation (which I found intoxicating)--are enough on their own to recommend this film.
Second, and this is more personal, but the guiding theme and philosophies jibe very well with how I view the world. Shit's going to happen whether you want it to or not. It's even going to happen whether you choose to do anything about it or not. You could call it "destiny" but that doesn't seem quite right; "inevitability" is better. I'm not going to give much anecdotal evidence here because I wouldn't want to spoil anything cause it's fairly new to theaters still, but suffice it to say it's there.
Also, in an odd way, I think that the theme of the title is in good harmony with my snuffing-it-at-60 plan. No Country for Old Men. What's the point of playing out the string? What do you like? You like to be alive, not just alive. Tommy Lee Jones verbalizes this well at the conclusion of the film, and while some people no doubt leave the theater with a feeling of unfullfilment because of the lack of a clear resolution, for me it was just the opposite: enrichment and satisfaction.
At least for me, this film both requires (not from the front row) and demands, not just a first, but a second viewing.
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I agree very much with your thoughts on the movie. Although I would like to argue that the supporting roles were just as rich as Javier Bardem's. The Coen brothers' films have an ability to create these insteresting side characters which -although always eccentric- are always a few steps deeper than characatures. Yes, Bardem had a really compelling and complex performance, but without the strength of the other ones it wouldn't have worked so well.
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