Yesterday I was fortunate enough to see two movies that are still both in limited release. Fortunately, both movies were great.

No Country for Old Men

The new movie from the Coen brothers (Fargo, Blood Simple) is taken out West this time -- West being Texas. Their source material is the novel of the same title by Cormac McCarthy. The film follows three primary stories revolving around about $2 million in cash.

First we have Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a retired 'nam Vet who, while out hunting one day, comes upon the remnants of a drug deal gone bad. Among the corpses he manages to come across the money, which he takes home to his wife in their trailer park. He's a smart character and knows whoever's money it is will come looking for it. He goes on the run while he tells his wife to hide elsewhere.

His pursuer is Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who may or may not be the primary character of this story. He is unsympathetic to human life and does what he wants, freely and without worry. To figure out his motives is not an easy task. There is no method to Chirugh's actions, other than it involves lots of killing and the pursuit of the money.

To complete the triangle is an old sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones). He starts the movie with a voice-over that establishes a number of things, the most important may be his matter-of-fact way of dealing with the law. He also talks about how old-time sheriffs never used to carry guns. Tom Bell is on the trail of Chigurh's killings, not because he wants justice, but because he wants to save lives. He knows he'll never understand a person like Chigurh, but he does know he can save Llewlyn Moss if he catches up to them.

With those introductions going, let me say this -- the movie is hardly what you may expect, especially from a movie in this genre (crime/western). You may, and probably will be, frustrated. Some scenes are graphic enough to make you churn in your seat. At the very beginning, the first murder Chigurh commits on screen, you'll realize that this is not a movie of good against bad, right against wrong, but instead a movie about the actions of an incomprehensible killer in the face of his victims. Chigurh enjoys having small chats with the casualties before he murders them.

If there's one thing the Coen brothers have done well in their movies, it is a simultaneous pull where you do not want a scene to end, but at the same time can't wait to see what happens next. And each scene is like this in a different way. Moss and Chigurh encountering each other in hotels across the state is enough tension, but scenes where Tom Bell sits in a diner reading the paper strike equally, if not more-so. Through the movie Tom Bell has a younger sheriff, Wendell, tagging along. Wendell asks Tom Bell if he thinks Moss knows what he's into, and Tom Bell responds, "I don't know, he ought to. He's seen the same things I've seen, and it's certainly made an impression on me."

It is this sense of intelligence among the main characters that makes this movie a success. Moss knows how to saw off shotguns, Chigurh can pull shotgun shrapnel out of his own knee and completely sanitize it, and Tom Bell can tell how long it's been since pretty much anyone has been pretty much anywhere.

I know these paragraphs are vague, but more than anything I do not want to ruin the hints and surprises of the movie. It is a story of nuances and subtleties, but also the blood sometimes hits you right in the face. Be sure to see this movie.

Rating: 7/7


Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Director Sidney Lumet is back behind the camera, and what a great movie this is. I would say it's on par with 'Dog Day Afternoon,' but that may even be an understatement. This could be among his masterpieces, such as 'Network' and '12 Angry Men.'

With that said, I will give a small overview for those who have not seen the preview. I say this only because to reveal more than the preview shows would be disastrous to the experience. Two brothers, Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Hank (Ethan Hawke), both have their money problems. Hank has to pay $900 a month for child support to his ex-wife, and he's already three months behind. Andy has to scramble for cash to keep his wife Gina (a gorgeous Marisa Tomei) happy. Her self-esteem is so low around Andy all she can do to keep going is to tell herself they will go back to Brazil, where they took a vacation and everything was perfect.

With money in mind, Andy and Hank arrange a jewelry store robbery. The catch is that it's their mom (Rosemarry Harris) and dad's (Albert Finney) store. But that's good, because they know the schedule, they know where the alarms are, and the parents are covered in the insurance. But oh, how everything goes completely wrong.

There is much credit due to screenwriter Kelly Masterson, whose first movie this is. The non-linear storytelling of how each character's life goes a few days before, and a few days after the robbery is enough to make Quentin Tarantino jealous. And Lumet takes control of these scenes and gives them so much life that we almost feel like we're part of the Hanson family ourselves.

The family dynamic is played perfectly. In a scene where Andy asks Hank if he's "in" on the plan, he makes Hank raise his hands into plain view so there's no fingers-crossed, like when they were kids. Small things like these show us that even though Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman may not look alike at all, there is never any doubt of their kinship.

The great performance in this movie, though, is Albert Finney. There is a funny thing about this movie. The "law" seems to prove completely incapable of doing anything. Charles Hanson (Finney, the dad) finds this out and begins investigating the robbery himself. Andy and Hank do not know this, and their extreme paranoia drives them to a climax that is so epic it almost redefines the word.

The film also relies heavily on the music by Carter Burwell, who with his low chords and slow melodies sets a mood in every scene that feels like the movie would fail without it. A success regardless, the score just propels it the movie to greatness.

And there is the tip of the iceberg. Here Lumet proves that even in his old age he can still make movies much better than most, and because of that, this one should not be passed up.

Rating: 7/7