I don't know about you, but the arrival of a new Coen Brothers movie is a really big deal to me. (Yes, even after Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers, both of which I enjoy more than most people seem to.) Their latest is a return to the old-school film noir form a la Blood Simple or The Man Who Wasn't There. Miramax won't be releasing No Country for Old Men until November 21, but we've got a handful of very enthusiastic reactions from that big French film festival.

Our pals over at Rotten Tomatoes say: "not only does No Country deliver another excellent Coen Brothers film, it also delves thematically deeper than your average crime thriller with its sprawling saga of a drug deal gone wrong, a bag of cash, a hunter on the run (Josh Brolin), and the philosophizing psychopath on his trail (Javier Bardem)." The Tomato gang also mentions that the flick "created an audible buzz in the Debussy theater lobby as members of the press spilled out of the aisles after tonight's press screening." Cool! (Also in the cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson and the adorable Kelly Macdonald.)

Our own James Rocchi shares his thoughts: "A brilliant example of how plot devices as simple as murder and money can be used to explore larger sweeping themes of mortality, morality and more -- while still delivering rousing, intelligent pure entertainment." Over at Variety, Todd McCarthy was in agreement: "Cormac McCarthy's bracing and brilliant novel is gold for the Coen brothers, who have handled it respectfully but not slavishly, using its built-in cinematic values while cutting for brevity and infusing it with their own touch. Result is one of the their very best films, a bloody classic of its type destined for acclaim and potentially robust B.O. returns upon release later in the year." Argh, who wants to wait until November?? Then again, only a fool would release a Coen film in the middle of the summer.