"No Country for Old Men" **** (out of four): This Coen Brothers adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel may be their darkest film yet. It's also one of their best.

"There ain't no stoppin' what's comin'." We hear this phrase multiple times during "No Country for Old Men," Joel and Ethan Coen’s hypnotic adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel. And boy howdy is it true. Mr. McCarthy’s story of a small-time West Texas welder who happens upon a drug deal gone wrong (and a suitcase full of money) has all the elements that the Coen’s do best. There’s the regional patois ("Country" is likely to do for West Texas what "Fargo" did for, well, Fargo), the local sheriff following a trail of bodies (played by Tommy Lee Jones, likely born to star in Mr. McCarthy’s stories), and the deep dark sense of humor. But this isn’t the humor of "Fargo," "Raising Arizona" or even "Blood Simple" (their neo-noir debut). "No Country" has a slower, more confident pace. The humor comes from the characters and, to a larger extent, to relieve the intense sense of dread that permeates the film. This is one of the Coens’ most mature, complete works. More than anything else, "Country" feels orchestrated - conducted with the rhythms of the land and the language. Mr. McCarthy turns out to be a perfect match for the Brothers Coen. After a string of slight missteps ("Intolerable Cruelty," "The Ladykillers"), they are back in fine form.

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