The Coen Brothers’ masterpiece, ‘No Country for Old Men,’ is a brutal tale about the struggle to accept change and the dark truth of encountering something we don’t understand.

The film starts out with a haunting yet beautiful narration from Sheriff Ed Tom (Tommy Lee Jones) about his perspective on how his career as a sheriff has been turning out, but it also brings sets the underlying tone that will be present in the film.

Besides Ed Tom, the other two key characters in the story are Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) and Llewellyn Moss (Josh Brolin). Llewelyn discovers a drug deal gone wrong, but he wonders where the money wandered off to. Soon after, he finds the last man standing underneath the shade, and from there he finds a case containing 2 million dollars. As we travel with Llewellyn to secure his 2 million dollars, the terrifying but engrossing hitman, Anton Chigurh, aims to kill Llewellyn and take back what is his.

The Coen Brothers made the perfect casting choice for Anton Chigurh because he is the essence of what makes it a great film. With a calm yet cautious voice, and an unpredictable set of morals, this psychopathic killer is enticing to watch, but he is also essential to the brilliant symbolism that the Coen Brothers embed in this film so effortlessly.

Then we are led to Sheriff Ed Tom. Close to retirement, Ed is struggling to comprehend the last few days of his life as a sheriff when he has to face this game of cat and mouse between Chigurh and Llewellyn, and try to bring order to the chaos that Anton presents. Tommy Lee Jones plays this role remorsefully and with elegance, and he does it as if he was born to play it.  Because of this and the brilliant screenwriting from the Coen Brothers, these characters are presented with complex motivations and personas, leaving us to ponder the intentions of these characters, especially during the film’s intense sequences.

Speaking of intense, although the score for No Country for Old Men is only 15 minutes long, the Coen Brothers decided to not use it except for a few scenes. Despite this, it only strengthens the film. It immerses us into this harrowing and mysterious atmosphere through the often strong winds that blow into windows and long shots of the rich landscape that allow the viewers to establish the setting as a character.

The brilliant imagery of southern Texas, and the intricate symbolism of the film are as worthy of being analyzed as a piece literature. Chigurh is a force of nature that seems almost like a ghost as Ed Tom describes him, but he also has these sets of principles that seem to soar those below him, and that is how he is able to enter invade their sanity and soul before ending their life. No matter how hard Llewellyn may try to run away from Chigurh, Chigurh always seems to be one step of him. It is almost as if he determines the time and place where he will face Llewellyn. That is what makes Chigurh so terrifying. It’s as if he is the one who is choosing the destiny that lies for Llewellyn, and the disturbing truth is he cannot do anything to save himself from it.

What No Country for Old Men seems to achieve is too good to be true. It’s a film that is able to capture the hypnotic and darkening path of all these characters that we can’t help but want to join in for the ride. Every scene is crafted with perfection and clear intentions, and because of this, No Country for Old Men is able to soar to the list of films that are able to leave us thinking for days about the events and the images we see. Llewellyn does not have a clear getaway from Chigurh, and we have no clear getaway from this picture.