"What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?"

Just one of the many memorable quotes uttered by the maniacal mastermind, Anton Chigurh, in the new Coen brother's film, No Country For Old Men, based on the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. As you can probably tell from my avatar (The Dude from The Big Lebowski), I'm a huge Coen brother's fan. With such cl@ssic movies as O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Fargo under their belts, and the almost unanimous high praise No Country received from critics, I was really looking forward to seeing this movie.

It begins with a somewhat typical narration by Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) over slow panoramic shots of the Texas/Mexican border. Soon after this opening sequence, we are introduced to one of the main protagonists of the film, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin). Hunting in the middle of this desolate wasteland by the Rio Grande, Moss stumbles upon a drug deal gone horribly wrong. With blood and bodies strewn everywhere, Moss finds a truck full of heroin and a sole survivor (but not for long), a gut-shot Mexican who begs him for some "agua" (water). Moss informs the man that he has no water to offer and asks for the where-abouts of the last man standing, "el ultima hombre". After receiving no answer, he sets off and eventually finds this man, dead under a tree with $2.4 million in cash nearby. Thus, the chaos begins.

We are introduced to the primary "villain" of the movie, Anton Chigurh, played marvelously by Javier Bardem, in a scene that is as brutal as it is calculating. After witnessing his brutality, we immediately realize that this man has no remorse, no conscience, no pity...for anyone. But Chigurh is not your typical Hollywood "badass". He's more Hannibal Lector than Terminator, and we learn this through the display of his obvious keen intillect and ingenuity. His ability to track his prey is uncanny, and it's scary to see that someone so intelligent could also be so sadistic. One of the most memorable scenes occurs early on in the film in a small gas station between Chigurh and the old store clerk/owner. The scene is almost relentless in its intensity, but not due to any amount of violence. The dialogue between these two strangers simply creates so much tension that you literally can't take your eyes off the screen.

Obviously, the movie cannot keep up such a rapid pace; it almost feels like a long roller-coaster ride with the vast changes in tempo and mood through-out. The scenes with Chigurh chasing after Moss and the money are nothing short of nail-biting, while Sheriff Bell's laid back monologues are the polar opposite with his slow reflections on life and the evolution of the world around him. It was difficult to stay involved in both plotlines due to their polarity, despite the powerful performances by their respective actors, but I think that's because this is a movie that is meant to be experienced more than once to be fully appreciated and understood.

I have to say that I was slightly disappointed with the latter third of the movie, though. I don't want to spoil anything, but the Coen's took a strange route when handling one of the more important "events" in the novel/movie. It almost seemed like an after-thought to them, as the "event" occured off-screen. However, I've learned it's best not to try and understand the Coens and their quirkiness, as it will only leave you scatterbrained. That said, some will say that the last 30 minutes destroyed an otherwise marvelous film, but I beg to differ. This movie, like the book, was not meant to fall into typical, Hollywood cookie-cutter formulas, and the Coen brothers are not your typical Hollywood writers/directors. The ending, like the movie, is not what I expected, and as such I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. However, I can still honestly say that this is one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time, and it is a must-watch for anyone who can handle the violent and somewhat depressing subject matter.

At the very least, you should see the movie just for Javier Bardem, who gives an Oscar-worthy performance as one of the most memorable movie villains of the last decade. Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin are also spectacular in their respective roles, and had it not been for Bardem stealing the show, I could easily have seen Oscar nods for them as well. Overall, I would rate this movie an 9 out of 10. It is indeed a superb movie, but it's not without its flaws.

The tagline says "There Are No Clean Getaways", and I can assure you that in this movie...there are none.