Review by Marty Mapes

No Country for Old Men holds up very well on the small screen and on second viewing. If anything, the movie is better the second time around, because you have the chance to look at the corners and sides of the screen. You don't need to pay attention to the story as closely; you can focus on the characters, their faces, their choice of words, and on the impeccable pacing imposed by the Coen brothers and their editor "Roderick Jaynes" (also the Coen brothers).

Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is a competent, methodical man who always seems to be one step behind the other two protagonists (Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem) who are both chasing a suitcase full of Mexican drug money found in the dusty desert border. Then again, he's at the age where he's thinking more about retirement than about his work.

As befits Cormack McCarty, the visual style is bleak (offset by the Coens' light touch). The tone is fatalistic. There are empty roads, distant horizons, and vast spaces. There are lawless men and impotent lawmen. There are missed connections, lost opportunities, and moral failings. It's a world of bad men that's easy to get trapped in and impossible to escape from.

The most impressive thing about these extra features is that the Coens participated, going on-camera to talk about the movie. They are not coy about their work; they are forthright and well spoken. They help make these featurettes feel less like marketing material and more like documentaries on the making of a film.

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