No Country for Old Men (2007)

You’re going to hate how No Country for Old Men ends the first time, and you’re going to be wrong. The Coen brothers made a chase movie and then quietly refused to hand over the showdown every chase movie promises. Before that, though, it’s close to flawless. Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh flips a coin at a gas station and turns small talk into the scariest scene of its decade. There’s barely any music, so every footstep and creaking door lands like a dropped plate. Josh Brolin plays Llewelyn as a guy who’s smart, just not nearly smart enough. Tommy Lee Jones carries the whole thing on pure weariness and a few long stories. The honest problem is that last stretch: it trades thrills for a meditation on getting old, and plenty of people feel cheated. It made $171.6 million worldwide on a reported $25M budget. A 9.4 because every scene is built like a trap. $128 says somebody in your house calls heads or tails this week and you flinch.

What works: Bardem’s Chigurh, the gas station coin toss, and a near-silent soundtrack that makes every footstep land.

What doesn’t: The last stretch drops the chase for a slow meditation on aging, and a lot of viewers walk away feeling cheated.

Who it’s for: People who like their thrillers patient and their villains quiet, and anyone ready to argue about an ending.