Crime, Blood, and Laughs: The Coen Brothers
Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
With Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin
Rated R, 122 minutes
In English and Spanish with English subtitles
While the Coen Brothers largely write original screenplays, Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name aligned nicely with their sensibilities and carried a lot of similarities to Blood Simple, which launched their careers. The result was a huge financial and critical success and became the only Coen Brothers film to win the Best Picture Oscar, which is a rare feat for a Western film. Set in 1980 Texas, the film follows the interlocking lives of three men: Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a hitman sent to recover money found by a Vietnam vet named Llewelyn (Josh Brolin), and a cop nearing retirement (Tommy Lee Jones) who is trying to cobble together a story and meaning from the related crimes he's trying to solve.