No Country for Old Men (2009).

Hey look, it's Javier Bardem, from Vicky Christina Barcelona. But instead of a charming charismatic Spanish-artiste-lover, he is now a greasy haired psychopathic killer-hitman in 1980s Texas. This Cohen brothers adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, hitman Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) has been hired to recover $2m left in a satchel at a drug deal that has gone wrong. Whilst out hunting, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across the aftermath of the drug deal - dead bodies of humans and dogs, blood, and guns. Later on, he finds a man in the shade of a tree out in the desert, dead from blood loss, and with a satchel containing $2m. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is soon to retire, but comes across this case. After finding the money, Llewelyn tells his wife to leave their trailer park and to move back in with her mother whilst he goes and takes care of whoever is trying to hunt him down. Little does he know that the satchel has a tracking device, to which Chigurh has the receiver, which he took off some Mexicans who returned to the crime scene. Thus begins a cat and mouse chase towards the Mexican border, lots of guns, lots of blood, lots of cleverness.

To be honest, the role of Sheriff Bell isn't hugely significant as I would have liked. He is mainly used to represent the lack of law and order and has some great lines which Jones' delivers in a real gritty yet wise way. The development of Moss's character after he finds the money is magnificent. Before: a cowboy in a trailer park; After: a determined man-on-the-run who is intent on his and his wife's survival. It's like he's been possessed. Suddenly he is sharp-thinking, knowing how to deal with the situation given. However, I think Anton Chigurh's character steals the show. And Bardem plays this role amazingly - forcefully creating a chilling, deadly assassin with a weirdly dark sense of humour; and armed with a silenced shot gun and a cattle gun. The scene at the old Texaco gas station I liked especially, telling the man to call a heads or tails flip of a coin. The audience knows he is calling for his life, though he is oblivious. There's a huge sigh of relief and sudden pleasantness from Chigurh after the old man calls correctly that makes you think whether or not Chigurh has any conscience.. that the coin was the only reason to justify not killing the innocent man. Bardem's character is left quite mysterious too, no mention of where he is from or his history, just that he leaves no trace, like a ghost. All you really learn is that he likes to keep clean from the blood of people he kills - he'll ask his victim to step out of the car; and will be careful not to tread on any blood spill on the floor. The attention to the latter point actually reveals the fate of Moss's wife at the end of the movie. The way he carefully and precisely makes every move emphasises his deadly nature and just how practised he is.

Cinematography is great in some of the earlier scenes in the desert. The barren landscaping and heat is wonderfully emphasised when Llewelyn is out hunting and whatnot. The action scenes are great at building up tension. Notice that the camera follows each of the three main characters one by one, and they rarely appear in the same shot together. I think this really builds upon each character separately so that you can link it all together yourself. The score is at times empty, which I find rather fitting to build tension. Sometimes silence is the best music. All in all, an excellent crime-murder chase film.