In a year packed with some of the best films of the decade, the Coen brothers managed to submit their best work to date with No Country for Old Men. It’s like they took the best elements from every film they had made prior—the suspense of Blood Simple, the southern setting and sense of foreboding retribution of Raising Arizona, the scenery, staging and formal perfection of Fargo—and melded them all together with a fascinating Cormac McCarthy tale of greed, karma, age and nihilism.
It’s hard to imagine the Coens producing a better film than No Country—again though, Inside Llewyn Davis may come close. Even some movies omitted from this list are abnormally strong. The Man Who Wasn’t There is a wonderful little neo-noir story; O Brother Where Art Thou and Miller’s Crossing being two instances of much loved and praised films that I have yet to really “get,” but I’ll keep trying. We won’t speak of The Ladykillers, but even that one may have improved since I last watched it.
The ability of filmmakers to continue to spit out fresh material and new ideas never ceases to amaze me, but especially when the work is being done at this level. There are few others operating at the level of the Coen brothers in movies right now. They may take some time to warm up to, but once you do, there’s no finer cinematic double act.
Want more Coen brother content? Check out our exclusive video interview with the cast of Inside Llewyn Davis below!
