No Country For Old Men / Fargo

One main similarity between No Country For Old Men and Fargo, as with most Coen Brothers Films, is the copious usage of violence in these films. Both films center around violent themes and concepts such as murder, kidnapping, gangs, etc. However, each film has a unique representation of violence. Although in each film the "bad" guy is the one committing the most violence (Javier Bardem in NCFOM, Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare in Fargo), they both depend on violence to keep the viewer interested in the film. When the first murder occurs in Fargo (Stormare kills the cop), the viewer is shocked at the scene and the murder creates a rolling effect of violence and tension throughout the remainder of the film. When Javier Bardem kills the man on the side of the highway with the pressure tank, we immediately know who the "wild card" in the film is, and Stormare is the "wild card" in Fargo. Overall, each film depends upon one or more particularly violent characters to keep the viewer paying attention to the film. All of the Coen Brothers' films that I have watched have had interesting plots and iconic scenes, sentences, and characters, but each film also uses violence at one point or another to keep the viewer interested in what is going to happen throughout the remainder of the film, which is the intention of Joel and Ethan. However, this is not totally true, as The Big Lebowski, also directed by the brothers, does not depends upon the violent character to keep the viewer into the film. As far as I can remember, The Big Lebowski did not have any particularly violent scenes, with the exception of the scene where Donny is shot.