2007 Film, Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Named Among the ‘Greatest Thrillers of All Time’
Tommy Lee Jones has starred in plenty of memorable movies over the course of his career. The Fugitive, Men in Black, and JFK are just a few. But one of his most acclaimed performances came in a movie that also gave audiences one of modern cinema’s most terrifying villains.
No Country for Old Men, released in 2007, has been named one of the greatest thriller movies of all time by StudioBinder. The Coen brothers’ Oscar-winning film landed at No. 5 on the publication’s ranking of the 25 best thrillers ever made.
Tommy Lee Jones Stars in ‘No Country for Old Men’
Based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, No Country for Old Men follows Llewelyn Moss, played by Josh Brolin, after he discovers the aftermath of a drug deal gone horribly wrong.
Moss finds a suitcase containing millions of dollars and makes the decision to take it. That puts him directly in the path of Anton Chigurh, a relentless killer played by Javier Bardem.
Jones plays Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, an aging Texas lawman trying to understand the violence unfolding around him as he attempts to find Moss before Chigurh does.
While Brolin and Bardem drive much of the action, Jones gives the movie its emotional center. His weary performance as Bell reflects on a world that seems to be changing into something he no longer recognizes.
It Has One of Cinema’s Most Memorable Villains
Bardem’s Anton Chigurh is one of the biggest reasons No Country for Old Men remains so unforgettable. Armed with a captive bolt pistol and an unsettlingly calm demeanor, Chigurh doesn’t feel like a typical movie villain. He feels almost impossible to reason with.
Sometimes, the fate of the person sitting across from him comes down to a coin toss.
Bardem’s performance became an immediate pop-culture phenomenon, from Chigurh’s weapon of choice to that unmistakable haircut. StudioBinder specifically notes that the character made his mark on pop culture almost immediately, while calling No Country for Old Men one of the most acclaimed films of the 21st century.
‘No Country for Old Men’ Won Four Oscars
The movie wasn’t just a critical favorite. It also dominated at the Academy Awards.
No Country for Old Men won four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Bardem.
The movie currently holds a 93% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site’s critics consensus praising the performances from Bardem, Brolin, and Jones.
StudioBinder also singled out the film’s ability to balance its darker moments with occasional levity, pointing to the motel chase and its mix of crime, suspense, and neo-Western storytelling as reasons it remains one of the genre’s best.
This story was originally published by Men’s Journal on Aug 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.