In my book, the Coen brothers have never made a bad movie.

Some of their films may have confused me (there's a reason Barton Fink was a punchline on an episode of The Simpsons), but their uncompromising originality sets them apart from the competition. Since 1985, Joel and Ethan Coen have continuously rewarded audiences with their own unique brand of cinema - postmodern twists on classic genres such as film noir, mystery, and the screwball comedy.

No Country for Old Men, the first of their pictures to win top honours at the Academy Awards, is yet another benchmark in their film legacy. Remarkably, it's their first true adaptation - The Ladykillers was changed enough from the original version to be considered their own, and if you can find the similarities to The Odyssey in O Brother Where Art Thou, you're looking too hard - so perhaps it's Cormac McCarthy's hand in the story that appealed to Oscar voters.

In fact, the film follows the book closely, and things I had thought were Coen originals - such as the blithe threat Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) makes to his wife when she asks too many questions, "You keep running that mouth, I'm gonna take you in the back and screw you," - come straight from the novel. The brothers' contribution came in escalating the cat-and-mouse aspect of the drug-deal-gone-wrong storyline - as in allowing Tommy Lee Jones' sheriff to find a still sweating milk bottle left out by the villain, creating a never-ending tension that envelops viewers.

As always, the Coens' strongest creations are their characters. Can you picture anyone but Jeff Bridges playing The Dude or anyone but Holly Hunter playing the manic wannabe mom in Raising Arizona? No Country... provides Javier Bardem with the role of a lifetime as psychotic hitman Anton Chighur. His bloody escape from jail, not to mention his freakish, pageboy haircut, is enough to crown him world championship crazy.

Normally elusive when it comes to extras, the DVD features a 25-minute 'making of' that includes a lengthy interview with the Coens, along with other musings by the cast and crew. I doubt we'll ever hear a full commentary by the duo - one only needs to listen to the satirical script given to an actor to read over Blood Simple on the director's cut of that disc to learn of their contempt for self-congratulation.

Upcoming Releases
April 1 - Sweeney Todd; Alvin and the Chipmunks; Resurrecting the Champ; The Good Night; That '70s Show: Season Eight.

Amanda Stefaniuk is a freelance writer who literally grew up in a video store.