I think I’ve seen my fair share of merciless, psychopathic killers that recent cinema has to offer, from Se7en’s John Doe to Leon’s corrupted DEA Agent Stansfield, even Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs, but none of them frighten me half as much as the hired mercenary Anton Chigurh ( played to perfection by Spanish actor Javier Bardem ) from the Coen brothers’ outstanding film No Country for Old Men. Dispatched by the Mexican mob to retrieve a missing 2 million dollars drug money, Anton is violence personified, a walking, frenzied storm of mayhem that leaves a trail of utter destruction and bloodshed as he tracks down his game.

“Who is this guy, the ultimate badass ?”, asks one of the characters in the film. But to label Anton Chigurh as a psychopath would be wrong perhaps; because he has a clear sense of purpose, and unflinching principles, part of the reason why his character is so macabrely fascinating I guess.

I don’t usually find any of the Coen brothers’ films to my liking, but this is certainly a pleasant exception. The other one Coen film that I enjoyed was “The Man Who Wasn’t There”. shot in beautiful B&W by cinematographer Roger Deakins, who incidentally also photographed this one.

Definitely one of the more memorable films I’ve seen so far this year, and I look forward to watching it again.

Review of this film by Roger Ebert
No Country for Old Men entry on IMDB
No Country for Old Men on Wikipedia