Surprised? No, of course you're not surprised. Aside from the fact that I literally told you who would occupy first place on the previous page, no-one else really stood a chance against this chilling portrayal of Anton Chigurh - brought to you by everyone's new favourite Bond villain, Javier Bardem. It is to be expected, that there will be people reading this who have merely seen the trailer of Ethan and Joel Cohen's (that's right, I said it the other way round) masterpiece of a film from 2007. Firstly, shame on those people - it's an exceptional piece of cinema, and may God strike them down for their laziness in getting around to watch it. Secondly, they may be surprised to learn that the story does not in fact revolve around Chigurh's merciless quest to use a high-powered hoover nozzle as a way of exacting revenge on the hairdresser that left him looking like a young Donny Osmond. No, it is a little more involved than that. To be fair though, the movie could be about exactly that, and Bardem's unflinching performance would still keep us thoroughly engrossed to the last second - and why? Because Anton Chigurh is an alien. Not in the literal sense but in the other, less literal sense. He floats around a world to which he has no emotional ties, choosing his own path, and feeling an ever-so-subtle sense of disgust at his own interpretation of everyone else's inferiority. He is played with a constant calmness that undermines every severe situation he finds himself in, and a distinctive trace of playfulness that seems to stem simply from his nature, rather than his own enjoyment. Anton went on to place number 46 on Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters Of All Time (although he has vowed to keep on killing) and Bardem garnered an Oscar, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for representing him onscreen - top work by everyone involved, and a fitting King to this acting monarchy. Have I missed anyone out? Please do tell me who and why in the comments section, and I'll try to remember to include them in the next Decade List in 2023. If not, I hope you've enjoyed the crazy roller coaster of digital text and opinion we've been on together - please do feel free to follow my brand new Twitter account (which I'm told is some sort of social media - @zacharyjohnc - link down below) or don't - see if I care (I do, very much so). https://twitter.com/zacharyjohnc
