"No Country for Old Men"

By Dov Levavi

The paradigm of moral degeneracy, Chigurh, who kills without any hesitance often with the flip of a coin is the embodiment of destruction. After one imminent victim pleads with him, saying "You don't have to do this," Chigurh smiles crudely and responds, "People always say the same thing."

The movies Hollywood churns out these days tend to present audiences with happy, secure endings that wrap conflicts up in neat, crowd-pleasing packages. Whatever the obstacle, the protagonist will inevitably overcome, get the girl, and defeat the villains. If we're lucky, we'll get to watch with glee as the bad guys mutter in humiliating defeat, hopefully covered in manure like Biff and his friends in Back to the Future. In the rare films that don't settle conflict that easily, the hero has some obvious flaw that prevents his attainment of full happiness.

This year, the Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards, No Country For Old Men, offers a tale of good versus evil that differs drastically from the audience-indulgence and instant gratification found in most movies today. As an intense thriller, the increasingly shocking scenes of suspense and action adds to the movie's allure. However, after viewing the film, one realizes that as an allegory, it evokes more questions than answers. The film leaves the audience with a desolate feeling of dread and doubt about the world.

This dread is suspended around a bag of $2 million dollars that changes the lives of all who encounter it. The main protagonist, a hunter named Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), finds this treasure at the scene of a drug deal gone wrong. Meanwhile, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), the cold-blooded killer, will stop at nothing to retrieve that money. The setting encompasses a rural Texas town that adds to the eeriness and discomfort that ensnares the audience.

The moral questions arise with the the town's Sheriff, Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), who follows the killer's trail. Always just a step behind, the sheriff continually questions the killer's thoughts before each atrocious murder act. While his disillusionment about humanity only increases, Bell fears that he will soon become unable to stop the tide of immorality and destruction that he has seen invade his small Texas town. His retirement reveals his sense of futility in the battle against crime and corruption. Even worse, Chigurh walks away with the money, damaged but undefeated after killing everybody in his path.

The lack of answers in the midst of all the questions raised by the film reverberates in Jewish history. After celebrating Purim, the holiday that commemorates the near annihilation of the Jewish people in the Persian Empire, these questions are very relevant. The story of Purim exists today in the story of the Holocaust. How have the Jewish people responded in the shadow of the most malevolent forces that history has seen?

The Jews have not responded to corruption and death with the pessimism and futility found in No Country. Instead we have responded with increased strength. Today, most Holocaust survivors are pleased by nothing more than the commitment and dedication to keeping Judaism alive. That the Jewish people have not only survived, but also thrived in this world after repeated threats to our existence, is what defines us as a people.

Upholding hope in the face of temporary defeat, as the UN constantly turns against Israel, anti-Semitism runs rampant in Europe, and the president of Iran calls for the destruction of the Zionist state, these are times of struggle and conflict for the Jewish people. But I believe that, as history has shown us, the Jewish people can and will persist and grow despite our obstacles.

Jewish life on college campuses flourishes and helps to battle what sometimes seems like unstoppable waves of anti-Israel sentiment. Unlike the sheriff, we must work with unfaltering commitment to prevent the loss of our culture and the wrath of those who spread hatred, and by doing so we will stand up to the evil nihilism that pervades the past. The nihilistic perspective of No Country may seem appropriate at times, but will never help much. Let us then celebrate Purim this year with high spirits and the confidence that nothing can hold us down.