Two Million Dollars will always be missed.

In Brief
While out hunting Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) comes across a startling discovery. In the arid waste lands of Texas he finds a scene of violence and death, A drug deal that has obviously gone badly wrong. Bodies are strewn everywhere and the vehicles nearby are riddled with bullets. He investigates further and finds one survivor who is only just alive and pleading for water which Moss ignores. After surveying the area he finds another guy not far away who had made a run for it. With him he has two million dollars. After scanning the horizon and satisfying himself that he is alone he decides that he will keep it for himself and returns home. With guilt in his mind he returns to the scene to help the one man that is still alive only to find that he is dead. He is not alone however and after a brief chase through the desert he manages to escape a group of men that have come to find out what happened to their deal. Acutely aware that people will be looking for him and the money he makes a decision. He sends his wife to her relatives to stay with them for a while and goes on the run. Enter Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). A cold and remorseless killer that is tasked with finding the money and killing whoever has it. He kills without a second thought which is second nature too him. Even the men who hired him. With the dead bodies piling up the local Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) gets involved and eventually finds the grizzly drug dealers and there vehicles along with Moss's vehicle which he instantly recognises. He is dismayed at the violence used and is coming to terms with the fact that the world around him is changing and not for the better as people are using more and more violence everyday. He has never had to use his weapon in all his years on the force but he can see that in the near future this may have to change as criminals are willing to go to any lengths, not like in the old days. There is a new breed of criminal on the streets and he feels left behind. Moss all this time has rented a motel room and hides the money in an air duct. He also rents the room that backs onto the first and fashions a hook for the money's retrieval. He is armed with a shotgun which he is prepared to use and waits in his room to see if anyone is following him. They are. Chigurh is now close behind him and discovers the room with the aid of a tracking device. He carries with him a tank if compressed air attached to a hose that is usually used to kill cattle. Chigurh has other uses for it, namely for killing his victims as well as gaining acess to rooms by punching the lock out. He also has a very high powered and silenced weapon that he doesn't hesitate to use should the situation arise. knowing that he has a killer on his tail Moss once again makes a desperate run for his life. Can he ever make good his escape and loose his deadly shadow?

1st Time Around
This film is based on a prize winning novel and adapts it to screen brilliantly. Bardem is the main draw to the film as the relentless killer and plays the part with style. He is cold and emotionless most of the time which suites the part well, as well as being clever and inventive. Jones is good as the crest fallen sheriff that despairs of the situation he finds himself in, as is Brolin as the hunted man. The tension of the film builds and builds and the feeling of being tracked by an unstoppable killer is great. It is intelligently and maturely written and directed and its one of the Coen brothers finest films. The ending I did find a little inconclusive but this is a minor flaw. This is a story of how a sheriff facing retirement sees the world and how he is beaten into submission by the fact that he is now a dinosaur compared to the new generation. I didn't expect this and for that reason I was the tiniest bit disappointed. It deals with feelings rather than action and this is too its credit, although there is a fare amount of action and violence in it from the very start. If you are a fan of the book or want to watch an intelligently written crime drama then you wont be disappointed. This is a great film and one not to be missed.

2nd Time Around
With fantastic performances by the cast, great cinematography and good direction this is easily watched again but not endlessly watchable. I have watched it a few times and was happy to do so.

9/10