Directors : Ethan Coen Joel Coen

Stars :
Tommy Lee Jones ... Sheriff Ed Tom Bell
Javier Bardem ... Anton Chigurh
Josh Brolin ... Llewelyn Moss
Woody Harrelson ... Carson Wells
Kelly Macdonald ... Carla Jean Moss

Preparation :
Read the Roger Ebert Review

Historical/Social Significance :
The film is a search for structure (read God) in this seemingly random world. Two of the main characters, Ed Tom Bell and Anton Chigurh struggle with meaning in different ways. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell tries to think his way to an explanation. He sees the results of men’s dark hearts and the disconnected path of violence. Confronted with this, Bell attempts to keep order and attempts to reason. He fails and ultimately gives up the cause by saying “I always figured when I got older, God would sorta come into my life somehow. And he didn't. I don't blame him. If I was him I would have the same opinion of me that he does.”
Good New Film Reviews

Synopsis :
A drug deal gone bad sends a sociopath out looking for the money.

Guided Questions for Viewing :
Assessment questions will be based on the following :
• "Some of the old-time sheriffs never even wore a gun. A lot of folks find that hard to believe.... You can't help but compare yourself against the old timers. Can't help but wonder how they would've operated these times...."
  -- Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones)
  What does the above quote say about the Sheriff's view of what modern times are like?
• This movie goes against most of the Western myths where the good guy defeats the villain and saves the day. Discuss this movie in terms of its turning the traditional Western themes upside down.
• At his first coin-toss, Anton Chigurh says, “It has been traveling for twenty-two years to get here.”
  At his second coin-toss, Carla Jean Moss says, ““The coin don’t have no say. It’s just you.” Anton replies, “I got here the same way the coin did.”
  What do these quotes tell about Anton's view of the world?
• After Llewelyn finds the money and comes home, he decides to go back to the scene of the crime. He tells his wife: “I’m fixin to go do somethin dumbern hell but I’m goin anways” . Why does he go back, even though he knows it is a foolish and dangerous thing to do? What are the consequences of this decision?
• “I feel overmatched,” Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) confides in a friend as he prepares to confront a psychopathic killer in No Country for Old Men. “I always figured God would sort of come into my life in some way. He didn’t. I don’t blame Him. If I was Him, I’d have the same opinion about me that He does.”
  Comment of the Sheriff's world view with respect to his quote above.
• "In a jarring opening monologue, Sheriff Bell says that to know the kind of evil going on these days would require a man to put "his soul at hazard" and to say "OK, I'll be part of this world." What does the monologue reveal about Sheriff Bell, violence and the changing shift in values in American society?