I watched a movie yesterday

I spent the night thinking about No Country For Old Men. As previously stated I was perplexed by the last 20-30 minutes of the movie, but I think I've got a handle on it now.
For the first ninety minutes or so there are three characters who pretty much get equal screen and story time. These characters are Viet Nam vet Llewellyn Moss, stone-cold killer Anton Chigurh, and Sheriff Ed Tom Bell played by Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, and Tommy Lee Jones respectively.
Moss initially seems to be the protagonist. The person who most would call the 'good guy'. The one who most people will root for. I sure did. And that was what caused me to be confused.
In fact, Moss is an inconsequential character so when he dies, abruptly and off-screen, not much is made of it. I was caught off-guard when this happened because I wanted him to 'win', to keep the bag of money he found and to escape the bad guy.
Conversely, Sheriff Bell's character is equally inconsequential. This is kind of odd since he is a legitimate 'good guy' in this film. The problem is that he's an old man who realizes that evilness in this world is passing him by and he can't keep up. Under the weight of this, he collapses into himself and becomes a disconsolate, old, useless man.
That leaves us with the sociopathic Chigurh who is nearly unstoppable in his quest to kill. He clearly believes (as evidenced by conversations he has before taking the lives of his victims) that he is fated to kill.
And that brings us to the important part in all of this. It's not the characters of this film that are key, it is the themes that are. The theme of fate. The theme of weakness.
Moss's weakness leaves him vulnerable on more than one occasion and it ultimately results in his death. Bell's weakness leaves him impotent and unable to do anything at all. Chigurh's strength allows him to conquer his lessers and accomplish his goals.
When these two themes collide in the form of Chigurh you have an unstoppable killer who is fated to leave scorched earth in his wake, piled high with the bodies of any unlucky enough to see him.
Once I realized these things, the movie became clear to me. I give it a solid A, five stars, and call it one of the best films I've seen in years.
I guess this would be as good a time as any to express my appreciation for the brothers Coen. Joel and Ethan, the two-headed director, have made a handful of my favorite films, including Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, the Big Lebowski, Fargo, and No Country For Old Men. Even their rare missteps (Intolerable Cruelty, the Ladykillers) were pretty good. I dig their work and I hope they keep it up for as long as I am able to watch what they make.