No Country For Old Men

Yesterday I saw the movie No Country For Old Men based on the novel of the same title by Cormac McCarthy. McCarthy is my favorite living author, so I had been looking forward to this, although after what Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz had done to "All the Pretty Horses", I had some concerns. "No Country For Old Men" was, however, directed by the Coen brothers, so I had some hope.

In short, the film did not disappoint. Most inspiring was the bringing to life of the character Anton Chigurh, the mass-murdering anti-christ that provides the vehicle for McCarthy to set the philosophical underpinnings of the story. Chigurh is played by Javier Bardem, and it would not be a surprise if he were to win a best supporting role Oscar for this work.

The film (and the novel) are not for everyone. The theater was nearly full the other night, and a good part of the crowd actually booed at the end (although my guess is that this was mostly for the abrupt ending, true to the novel to the letter, no hollywood, feel-good resolution here.)