Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is out in the desert of West Texas hunting game when he stumbles upon an apparent drug run gone wrong.

Upon finding both $2 million and heroin at the scene left by dead Mexicans, Moss decides to take the money and run. It seems simple: no witnesses, nothing connecting him to the event and a clean getaway.

However, it doesn’t hold out forever. When the owners of the drugs find their money missing, they set loose their best killer, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a man immersed in his own psychotic persona.

Chigurh carries around an old-style cattle killer and a single coin. If you guess whether it lands heads or tails, you live. Neither society nor kingpins can contain an animal as wild as Anton. And when he gets out of control, the only option left is to send another hired killer after the money – Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson).

Stuck in the middle of this is local sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), who just wants to retire. Soon all three men are in pursuit of Moss, but how long is it before the hunted has enough and becomes the hunter?

At long last, the Coen brothers have returned to stride with “No Country for Old Men.” After the mediocre efforts of “The Ladykillers” and “Intolerable Cruelty,” they return to their strength of gritty, nasty and real. When these men are in top form the screen crackles – “Fargo” anyone? – and this film lights it up in complete style.

By far the strongest aspect of this film is the actors. The Coen brothers are so generous with the dialogue and give each actor a juicy role to sink their teeth into. Each character has their little quirks that endear them to us, but their hearts are based in reality, so quirks never take over the core of them.

Josh Brolin is a gem. A truly brilliant performance that is a stark contract to his horrible, one-dimensional villain in “American Gangster.” Here he brings enough man’s man to the role to make it believable that he can elude Anton for so long but is playful enough that we find ourselves caring for his fate.

Let us not ignore the terrifying performance of Bardem. Creepy doesn’t do it justice – here he is the devil incarnate. Imagine the mind of Jack the Ripper in the body of Charles Bronson.

You can run and run, but sooner or later, your luck will run out and he’ll win.

But alas, not all is perfect. I must confess, the first two thirds of this film were pure genius. However, to a big disappointment, the last third falls short.

Not to imply it’s bad, it’s just not the high quality the rest of the movie is. We are left with too many questions and too few answers. Is the wife dead? What will those who are left alive do now? Some argue the lack of an apparent ending is the point of the film – life just doesn’t end. A vague ending can work in novel form, but that doesn’t mean it translates to the screen. More decisive decisions should have been made. We don’t need everything wrapped up, but we need something to take away as solid fact by the end. It doesn’t feel right that this film just “ends” – it cheats us of the chase.

Best scene: As Moss hides out in a Texan city motel, his tracker, Anton, at last finds his prey. These two men, both determined to be victorious, turn the hotel and street into a chaotic blood bath. A war is unleashed.

Overall: The Coen brothers return to the brilliance of “Fargo” with a slick, witty and superb story of men on the run. Blurring the line between good and evil, supported by delightful performances and woven together with a simple, yet moving score by Carter Burwell. This is one to see and, likely, one Oscar will reward.