No Country for Old Men: The Modern Western Based on the Story Its Author Was Warned ‘Will Never Work'

When Western movies come up, people often envision classics like the Man with No Name trilogy, The Searchers, The Magnificent Seven, or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. While those films earned their stellar legacies, there have been several Western movies made more recently that were also masterpieces. Now, one of those films has surpassed the rest to be named the "best modern Western."

What Hit Movie Was Named the 'Best Modern Western?'

In March 2025, Collider published an article detailing seven reasons why No Country for Old Men is the "Best Western of the 21st Century." Similarly, an Entertainment Weekly article that revealed the outlet's "picks for the best modern Westerns" from 1990 to 2024 ranked No Country for Old Men at No. 1.

Collider's article celebrated the film for its themes, captivating performances, the Coen brothers' fantastic direction, and how it modernized Westerns. It also noted how gorgeous the film looks and how perfectly it adapted the story written by Cormac McCarthy.

For its part, Entertainment Weekly's article described the film as being about "the death of the Western," and a movie that is "hard to shake." The outlet also noted that Tommy Lee Jones' character in the film learns how dark the world can be when he grapples with "evil incarnate, Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh."

There are plenty of other reasons why No Country for Old Men is such a compelling film, and Joel and Ethan Coen deserve endless praise for bringing it to life. One of the film's most underrated aspects is how quickly it makes viewers invest in characters, like the gas station worker Chigurh forces to flip a coin. While they sometimes get overshadowed by the film's fearsome villain, Josh Brolin, Kelly Macdonald, and Woody Harrelson are all excellent in the movie. The fact that the film embraces silence so fearlessly is also special. Amazingly enough, these are only a handful of the many reasons it seems likely the movie will never be forgotten.

How the Story Began as a Screenplay That 'Will Never Work'

Easily one of the most acclaimed movies of its era, No Country for Old Men won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The fact that the film won the last of those awards is funny considering how the story of Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name originated.

In November 2009, McCarthy was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal and spoke about his novel. At that time, the outlet asked him if it was true that he originally wrote No Country for Old Men as a screenplay. In response, McCarthy confirmed that the story began as a script that he later adapted into novel form. Amazingly enough, he stated that he gave up on it as a screenplay after he was told it would never work.

"Yeah, I wrote it (as a screenplay). I showed it to a few people, and they didn't seem to be interested. In fact, they said, 'That will never work.' Years later, I got it out and turned it into a novel. Didn't take long."

McCarthy later shared an amusing story about what happened after the Coen brothers won Oscars for adapting his story into a screenplay. "I was at the Academy Awards with the Coens. They had a table full of awards before the evening was over, sitting there like beer cans. One of the first awards that they got was for Best Screenplay, and Ethan came back and he said to me, "Well, I didn't do anything, but I'm keeping it."

Next: 1956 Classic Once Dismissed as For ‘Children' Now Ranked ‘Best Western Movie of All Time'

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 1:22 PM.