No Country for Old Men is the 2007 award-winning neo-Western from the Coen Brothers, based on the hit book by Cormac McCarthy, and both the movie and novel are populated with memorable and chillingly real characters. The movie follows a man named Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) as he stumbles upon a cartel suitcase full of money and decides to run with it. That decision kicks off a chase through the American Southwest between him, a sheriff named Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), and the terrifying Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). All three men are tied by fate and yet almost never meet throughout the film.
The movie was a major success, earning $171.6 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). No Country for Old Men is one of the Coens' best movies, and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Bardem. Bardem is often looked at as the best thing to come out of the film, but every actor in the movie is worthy of praise. The large cast took home the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award at the SAG Awards and their characters are a unique blend of Coen and McCarthy idiosyncrasies.
Josh Brolin As Llewelyn Moss
The protagonist of No Country for Old Men, and the antagonist if he was placed in any other film, Llewelyn Moss gets the plot moving after stealing a briefcase of money after stumbling across a cartel shootout. It’s one of Brolin's best movies, and he plays the stoic cowboy with a calculating look in his eyes that lets the audience know there is a shrewd ex-soldier underneath his country-boy exterior. Despite being constantly on the run, Llewelyn is an intelligent, clever, and resourceful character who gives even the unstoppable Chigurh a reason to pause. When Llewelyn ambushes Chigurh, it’s not a surprise he gets the drop on him.
Before No Country for Old Men, Brolin was only having a middling career. His most well-known film was his first, as the older brother Brand in The Goonies. After the Coen brothers' film, Brolin’s star skyrocketed, and he has starred in celebrated smaller films like Milk (for which he was nominated for his only Academy Award), Sicario, and Hail, Caesar! as well as large franchise productions. Many viewers may not recognize him, but Brolin entered the MCU in Guardians of the Galaxy as Thanos and his unwinking commitment to the role and deep, gravelly voice gave the greatest MCU villain the necessary gravitas to prop up Phase I.
Javier Bardem As Anton Chigurh
Anton Chigurh is one of the greatest literary villains and finding the right actor to play opposite Brolin was key in successfully making No Country for Old Men. Bardem is perfect in the role. He was already a lauded actor in his home country of Spain, and he had received international recognition for his part as Felix the drug kingpin in Collateral, and as Cuban revolutionary Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls, a role for which he was nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Chigurh is one of the scariest non-horror villains put to screen, and it’s in large part thanks to Bardem’s acting.
The title No Country for Old Men refers to how the new American West is more violent and chaotic than the one before it in the early 20th century. Chigurh is the manifestation of this unhinged brutality — one character compares him to the bubonic plague. Bardem gives Chigurh all the dead-eyed, monotone intimidation suitable for a hitman. After this film, Bardem continued using variations of the character in future films such as when he played the dastardly Raoul Silva in Skyfall or the ghostly Armando Salazar in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Bardem’s range has seen him in everything from rom-coms to sci-fi franchises like Dune.
Tommy Lee Jones As Ed Tom Bell
Rounding out the main performances in No Country for Old Men is Ed Tom Bell, the sheriff after Llewelyn and Chigurh. As tough and wise as Ed Tom is, he is always one step behind the action of the film. Chigurh and Llewelyn fight through the West, leaving a bloody trail, and Ed Tom can do nothing but clean up the bodies. He’s a tired and disillusioned old man and Jones' weary delivery of his lines and sarcastic quips at his deputies sound authentic coming from the native-born Texan. Ed Tom is the third lead of the film, but he’s crucial to the themes of the movie.
Jones is one of the most acclaimed and recognizable actors of his generation. He has appeared in the MCU and Men in Black franchises and Jones’ best movies have been with some of the preeminent directors of the industry including Oliver Stone and William Friedkin. Jones has been nominated four times at the Oscars, winning once in 1993 for The Fugitive, a role that also earned him a Golden Globe. Those aren’t his only accolades; he’s been nominated three other times for Golden Globes and three times in individual acting categories at the SAG Awards, winning twice for Lincoln.
No Country For Old Men Supporting Cast Members
Tess Harper As Loretta Bell: Tess Harper plays Loretta Bell, Ed Tom’s supportive wife who allows the stoic sheriff to express himself. Harper was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar at the 59th Academy Awards for her role in Crimes of the Heart, a Bad Sister-like black comedy, but younger audiences will recognize Harper for her recurring role as Jesse Pinkman’s mother on Breaking Bad. Her matriarch role in No Country for Old Men has shades of Jesse’s mom, but Loretta is much more hardened like the rest of the characters in the film, and Harper nails the role.
Kelly Macdonald As Carla Jean Moss: Llewelyn’s wife Carla Jean is a down-to-earth, kind, and ultimately brave woman who is the final victim of her husband’s recklessness and Chigurh's rampage. Despite sounding like she was born in the Southwest in No Country for Old Men, Macdonald is actually from Scotland and spoke in her natural accent when she voiced the Disney princess rule-breaking Merida in the Scottish Pixar adventure Brave. For all her film credits, her most recognizable role is in Boardwalk Empire as Margaret Thompson, Nucky’s wife. Macdonald picked up multiple SAG, Golden Globe, and Emmy nominations for her performance, winning the Best Ensemble SAG in 2011 and 2012.
Garret Dillahunt As Wendell: Despite the grim and serious tone of No Country for Old Men, there are still some quirky lines and moments to remind the audience that it’s still a Coen brothers film. Wendell (Garret Dillahunt), Ed Tom’s deputy, gets the majority of these rare moments, at one point sarcastically describing a cartel shootout as, “Whoa! Differences.” Dillahunt is most famous for his leading role in the canceled Raising Hope where he played Burt Chance, the patriarch of the family. His role in the comedy was well received and may be why the Coens picked him for the looser role of Wendell.
Woody Harrelson As Carson Wells: In a bit of ironic casting in No Country for Old Men, Harrelson plays Carson, a character reminiscent of Harrelson’s father, Charles Voyde, a convicted Texas hitman (via Movieweb). Carson is the other hitman pursuing Llewelyn but runs afoul of Chigurh, who kills him before Carson can even begin his search. Harrelson has a long filmography, including a number of acclaimed projects, and he recently portrayed Cletus Kasady in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. He's also known for his television roles on the series Cheers as Woody Boyd and in the first season of True Detective as Marty “Stop Saying Odd S**t” Hart.
Stephen Root As Man Who Hires Wells: Root is a Coen brothers regular having appeared in five of their films. In No Country for Old Men, Root only appears in two scenes as the man who hires Carson to track down Llewelyn and Chigurh to receive the money, but it’s a fantastic performance for the screen time. Root’s character is the wealthy overseer of the money who thinks he’s separated from the violence right before it comes stomping into his office. Despite his serious role here, Root is best known for his comedy work in Dodgeball and Office Space, and as Monroe Fuches on HBO’s Barry.
Barry Corbin As Ellis: Ed Tom’s uncle Ellis gives the speech that explains the ending of No Country for Old Men. It’s the second-to-last speech of the film, and it’s perfectly acted by Barry Corbin. The speech sums up the themes of No Country for Old Men and leaves a lasting impact on Ed Tom who realizes his worries for the future have arrived long ago. Corbin is a staple of Western and neo-Westerns and so is a great choice to deliver a speech that shatters the romantic image of some of those films. His most notable role was starring as Maurice Minnifield in Northern Exposure, and he also appeared on Yellowstone.