Quick Takes: No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men is something special. It's hard to describe a film that waxes philosophical in between gruesome gun violence, amidst the sound of silence. (Only when Llewelyn Moss is awakened by a mariachi band south of the border does melody interrupt the squeaks of floor boards and blasts of shot.) Javier Bardem is chilling as a heartless and proficient killer named Anton Chigurh, and Tommy Lee Jones has never looked more tired as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell. I went into the theater half-expecting some Tarentino-esque showdowns but left with something so much more - an invitation to reflect and ponder about life and how we live it, about darkness and how it must be lit. No Country for Old Men is easily the best film I've seen this year, and I would encourage all my readers to see it.