Ethan and Joel Coen made a name for themselves with absurdist romps like Raising Arizona and O Brother, Where Art Thou, but their steel crime dramas should be considered just as significant. The Coen Brothers’ directorial debut was Blood Simple, a captivating neo noir, and they returned to the world of murder and mayhem in the Academy Award-winning feature, No Country for Old Men.

Just about to leave Tubi on December 1, fans shouldn’t miss the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s disturbing modern Western. No Country for Old Men stars Josh Brolin in the standout role of Llewelyn Moss, a welder who, after a close encounter, cannot escape his fate. Living in a trailer with his wife, Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald), Llewelyn’s life turns for the worse when he comes across a briefcase full of cash as a result of a cartel deal gone bad. Without thinking, Llewelyn grabs the case, which essentially seals his destiny.

Llewleyn discovers his mistake when the ruthless and uncompromising Anton Chigurh comes for the money. Javier Bardem’s stirring performance as the emotionless hitman earned him the Oscar that year and cemented him as one of the most terrifying villains put to film. Tommy Lee Jones rounds out the cast as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, who pulls the entire movie together.

‘No Country for Old Men’ Weaves a Tale About Fate

Though the first straightforward adaptation for the Coen Brothers, No Country for Old Men became a metric for filmmaking. A faithful adaptation of the source material, the brother directing duo brought the story to the big screen in a masterclass of film technique and storytelling. At the center of it all was a story about how circumstances cannot be avoided.

Once Llewelyn and Chigurh cross paths, there is no undoing what has been done. Llewelyn knows this on some level, even when he meets the bounty hunter, Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson). Wells has been acquainted with the quiet mercilessness of Chigurh and knows that even if Llewelyn tried to give the money back, the hitman would still kill him. He has his own set of principles, as horrific as they may be. Llewelyn’s only course of action is to fight for his life, even if it is a pointless task.

No Country for Old Men is a haunting tale about a modern world coming up too fast to become acclimated to. The film is a period piece, taking place in the now ancient year of 1980. Even when the film came out in 2007, it was a meditation on where the world was going, and it wasn’t meant for those faint of heart. Ed Tom can’t understand these new levels of crime as he investigates the cartel shootout. On the heels of Chigurh, he learns that this is a monster who abides by no rules in a world that no longer makes sense to him.

The message can be bleak, but it is also a powerful one. All the characters can hope to do is escape the evils of bad people, not even hoping for victory. Even so, the inevitable nature of destiny is the same for Chigurh as it is for Llewelyn. No one is free from the cards that fate deals. The Coen Brothers tell this story masterfully in one of the best films of the 21st century. Fans can view No Country for Old Men for free on Tubi until December 1.

Release Date

November 21, 2007

Runtime

122 minutes

Director

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Writers

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen