No Country for Old Men

I recently watched the film by this name, and was very surprised by it. I hadn't really expected much from it since I'm not really a huge Tommy Lee Jones fan, but while watching, I was really drawn in to what (I think) the writers were getting at. If you're not familiar with it, the film is focused on a serial killer that feels no remorse for his actions. But beyond that, the main point is that Tommy Lee Jones, an old (almost retired) lawman, cannot come to grips with what motivates this kind of behavior. The crimes are not crimes of passion. Instead it seems as though they stem from some inherent evil that is unexplainable.
I found myself identifying with Tommy Lee Jones' character a lot. Back in his younger days, crime seemed pretty straight forward, as did morality and common sense decency. But now, he feels alienated from the situation he finds himself in. I'm not yet 30, but somehow, I have some of the same thoughts. I feel like this old character looking at the new world around him and being past his time. Do times really change this fast? What seemed like common sense only a short time ago, now seems like ignorant closed-mindedness to many. It's as if the world changes before our very eyes.

What I found so poignant in the film, is how Tommy Lee Jones is rendered almost helpless in a way, because he cannot comprehend the killer's motives. He's from another era, a time where life made sense, and was in many ways simpler.

I just recently discovered that the same directors of this film, No Country for Old Men, also did O Brother Where Art Thou, which I also found a little disturbing. I think both the movies have a certain dark humor, but there is in both (especially in No Country...) a focus on the increasing depravity of our society. Let us just hope that with all the advancements of today and new possibilities of doing good, that we don't forget where we came from. People no longer like to talk about it in this age of pluralism, but what I'm referring to are Judeo-Christian values, the underpinning of our society, and the main reason for its success. I don't like religious fanatics, whatever the religion, but I do treasure the foundation our society was built on.

One of my favorite non-classical singers, Alison Krauss, has a song called A Living Prayer. While the words are very meaningful by themselves, some nice person has uploaded the song to youtube and set it to beautiful pictures of the Georgian (the state) countryside. It is very peaceful, and for some reason, makes me think of past days.