Joel And Ethan Coen are not only considered two of the best filmmakers of the last decades, but also one of the most original. Between the renewal of the neo-noir genre with their black humor classic Fargowhich the surprisingly dense subculture of bowling in The Big Lebowskiand the creation of the ridiculous action mechanics of Arizona JuniorThe Coen brothers are known for coming up with ideas that you would never believe could have come from anyone else. However, the Coen brothers are often at their best when adapting material that was already popular. The Coen adaptation of the popular Cormac McCarthy novel No country for old men became one of their biggest hits and their only Oscar winner for Best Picture, but the pair made some serious changes to the now iconic opening scene.

McCarthy was an acclaimed author known for his uniquely disturbing stories that fused the crime, neo-noir and western genres into a unique slice of Americana. While many of his best works have been lauded as modern classics, he also wrote many books that were deemed unadaptable due to their subversive narrative antics and internalized characters. While the Coens stayed surprisingly faithful to the original text in their adaptation, No country for old men changed the way the main antagonist was first introduced.

No country for old men

Violence and chaos ensue after a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad and more than two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.

Release date

8 November 2007

director

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Duration

122 minutes

Main genre

crime

Authors

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Cormac McCarthy

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A murder in broad daylight made “No Country for Old Men” even scarier

Both in the book and in the novel No country for old men begins with the serial killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) approaches the employee (Gene Jones) at a gas station and asks him to call a coin toss. Although the clerk asks him what he has to lose, Chigurh offers no explanation, suggesting that the wrong decision could end in a bloody murder. The film adaptation of No country for old men takes place in broad daylightwhile in the book the scene takes place closer to the time the gas station would be closing. In both versions the clerk claims that they are closing soon and he doesn’t have time to fire the shot; in the film, however, this is more effective as it suggests that he is closing in the middle of the day because he is afraid of the ruthless villain standing in front of him.

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No country for old men differs from other films about serial killers in that the action takes place in the middle of the daywhich means that Chigurh is not a villain who follows the rules. Audiences have been taught for years by slasher films like Black Christmas And Halloween to expect a murderer to strike at night, but No country for old men turns out to be a far more realistic crime thriller. It serves as an effective opening scene, as the audience now understands that Chigurh could strike at any time and is not intimidated by societal norms.

“No Country for Old Men” created one of the greatest villains of all time

The adaptation of No country for old men succeeds in creating a mystery around Chigurhwithout providing an explanation for his motives. Although McCarthy tries to keep his intentions similarly ambiguous, the book still describes some of his inner thoughts, which at least gives readers a clue as to how his mind works. At one point in the book, Chigurh describes himself as the clerk’s “instrument,” suggesting that he is an agent of fate who brings about death. The film, however, undermines any sense of humanity, creating a truly heartless character that feels like he’s ripped from a classic western.

Although the Coens deserve credit for turning a very difficult novel into a masterpiece that won the Oscar for Best Picture, Bardem’s performance makes No country for old men an absolute classic. It would have been easy for Bardem to portray the role as a particularly sadistic villain, but Chigurh is terrifying because of the sheer apathy he shows towards the people he brutalizes. He is an unforgettable character, and his portrayal rightly won Bardem his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

No country for old men is currently streaming on Prime Video in the US

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