I finally got around to watching No Country for Old Men today. I have been able to pretty much avoid spoilers for this since the day it came out. I'm a pretty big fan of the Coen Brother's and this didn't disappoint me at all. That is till the very end. More specifically, the lack of an ending. I will get to that in just a second. If you have ever seen a Coen Brother's film, you know exactly what you are getting and what it's going to look like. There is something very retro about how they go about shooting and framing scenes. It really is a visual feast on how to shoot a movie and I wish more film makers would take this approach now days. The dialog is also something that is lacking in most films, but in theirs and especially this one, it's practically poetry.

I loved how the movie opens and the viewer is basically left in the dark of what is happening and why. It's up to us to put the puzzle together and make the connections of what is going on with the slaughtered people in the desert, the money, the hitman, etc...Once you have that out of the way, this becomes a very fascinating thriller that never, ever hits you over the head. It's not about whiz bang explosions or car chases. This has none of that and yet, you feel like your watching the greatest chase film ever. Go figure. I thought everyone involved was superb. Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson and of course Javier Bardem all did a fantastic job.

But this is where my esteem for the movie ends. There really is no clear motivation for the main villian other than 'it's what he does'. Also, the story itself doesn't really make it known who the main character is. Is it Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones)? Llewelyn Moss (Brolin)?  Anton Chigurh (Bardem)? That was the first problem and believe it or not, I can let this slide. What I can't let slide is the ending...or lack of one. This is probably one of the most unsatisfying endings to a film I have ever seen. I don't want to be left hanging. I need and demand a clear cut ending. It just left me feeling like I just wasted 2 hours of my time, in spite of some great acting and set ups. It undermines everything we are promised.

This is a very overrated film if you include the last 5 minutes and is not worthy of a Academy Award for Best Picture. Everything leading up to it was good. The ending was not and I feel like the Coen's betrayed my trust and they got lazy on their end of things. Really can't understand why it's so revered as a film when it's grossly incomplete. Someone explain this to me. Only a Rental at best.

While I understand the frustration of an unfinished story or an unsatisfying ending, while a little shocked, loved it. I can think of very few films that don't complete. One of my favorites being The Thing. And it was because of the lack of conclusion that added so much more power to going out of the theater thinking so many things.

Old Country I find the same way. I love this flick. The story, the characters, the seemingly normal looking man who was a monster without conscious. And all those very distinct characters that tie all this together.

I find this a rare film that entertains from beginning to end, witha roller coaster of a ride in between.

One of the best films I've ever seen.