The Coen brothers make fine movies. I am a fan of some of their intricate film noirs, as well as their somewhat surreal comedies. Their plots are well thought-out and the characterisation often brilliant. Somewhat sadly, I can recite quite a lot of the Big Lebowski, although, this will never match my knowledge of Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

I knew that No Country For Old Men would be a return to their dark side. Their first film Blood Simple was also set in Texas, where the wild desert vistas mirror the ruthless lifestyles of the leading characters. The Coens have a fondness for thrusting a harmless underdog into a precarious situation involving money, criminals, violence and, in this case, a vicious psychopath.

By the cut of his hair alone you can tell that Anton Chigurh, played by Javier Bardem will turn out to be a disturbing character. And adding to his menace is the fact that he kills his victims with an air cattle gun. Bardem is one of those European actors, like Jurgen Prochnow, who are able to unsettle by understatement.

Josh Brolin, meanwhile, is a powerful, sympathetic presence as unlucky Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss who puts up a noble fight against an unrelenting foe. Then there’s Tommy Lee Jones who, as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, is as rugged and off the wall as ever and seems to blend in chameleon-like into the harsh Texas countryside. While the Sheriff impotently muses over his life and work, a tortuous battle ensues for ownership of the $2 million dollars that Llewelyn Moss finds at the scene of a drug deal gone wrong.

Although there is the trademark Coen humour, in this film it is as fleeting as tumbleweed. Suspense, too, is sometimes lacking, despite the sometimes horrific events that unfold.

That aside, I would certainly recommend No Country For Old Men to anyone, as I see it as yet another triumph from the Coen brothers.