The Stealth 21st Century Western Revival That Gave Us Two Of The Best Movies Of The Last 25 Years

Western movies have not always been the most popular genre, but in the recent New York Times Top 100 Movies of the 21st Century List, two great Westerns finished highly ranked. The NYT asked directors, actors, and other Hollywood professionals to vote for the best movies made since 2000, and the rankings were interesting.

There were several fascinating things to note, including the fact that 15 Oscar-winning movies were not included on the list (via NYT). There were also some interesting genre choices, rather than other critically acclaimed films. However, for fans of the Western genre, two great additions prove that the genre is not dead yet.

The Western genre was one of the first major blockbuster genres, alongside the gangster movies of the early sound era in film. Names like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood carried the genre for seven decades, but since 2000, things have not been as great theatrically. That said, two movies released in 2008 demonstrated Westerns could still thrive with slight tweaks.

There Will Be Blood & No Country For Old Men Are Both In NYT's Best Movies Of The 21st Century

The Two Modern Westerns Came Out In The Same Year

In 2007, film lovers faced a tough choice when awards season arrived. Two films arrived that were modern-day masterpieces by three of the most beloved filmmakers in geek film circles. The Coen Brothers directed the neo-Western thriller No Country for Old Men, and P.T. Anderson made the Western horror thriller There Will Be Blood.

By the end of the year, only one could win the big prizes. No Country for Old Men ended up taking home the award for Best Picture and Best Director, while Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem won acting awards for the movies in which they appeared. There Will Be Blood won a total of two awards.

However, both movies remain beloved. There Will Be Blood has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, and No Country for Old Men has a 93% score. Hollywood insiders also loved both movies. The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century list has No Country for Old Men in sixth place and There Will Be Blood in third. It was an incredible finish for the two films.

For There Will Be Blood, producer Jason Blum said:

"The word ‘iconic’ is overused. But ‘I drink your milkshake’ is iconic because in four strange, ill-fitting words (weirdly, in the present tense) it really does sum up Daniel. I love this movie even though I think on some level the movie hates me."

For No Country for Old Men, actor Brian Cox said:

“It’s the Coen brothers at their best. They’re sort of daring and they’re pushing the envelope all the time with the amazing character played by Javier Bardem.”

There Will Be Blood & No Country For Old Men Show The Everlasting Appeal Of Westerns

Both Movies Showed That Westerns Can Still Thrive With The Right Filmmakers

The most impressive thing about the Oscars that year was that the two front-runners for Best Picture were categorized as Westerns. No Country for Old Men was a more typical Western, with a local sheriff trying to solve a string of murders while a small-town cowboy is on the run with the stolen money that he found.

There Will Be Blood is different. It takes place in a Western setting, with Daniel Plainville arriving in a small town for oil. There is the local church, and the minister is there to torment Daniel and push and prod him until he realizes he has gone too far. This is a horror movie in the vein of Dracula.

However, these are both movies that feature the Western aesthetic, and it was a nice callback to a bygone era when movies like Unforgiven were winning Oscars, and even earlier, when John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and Clint Eastwood dominated the box office. However, while these were Oscar-contending Westerns, they were very different thematically.

There Will Be Blood & No Country For Old Men Also Show How The Western Genre Has Shifted

The Movies Are Neo Modern-Day Westerns

In the 1960s, Westerns underwent a transformation, and not everyone was pleased about it. In 1966, Clint Eastwood starred in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which began to transform the Western genre. He then went on to star in some interesting films, such as High Plains Drifter, which was as much a horror movie as a Western.

This didn't make John Wayne very happy, because he felt these movies were not "real" Westerns. Throughout his career, he primarily played heroic cowboys, although he later developed characters who showed shades of gray, such as his role in The Searchers. However, in many Eastwood movies, he wasn't always portrayed as a good guy.

That change in dynamic plays out in both There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men. Honestly, there is only one good person in the two movies, and that is Tommy Lee Jones' Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, who has nothing to do with the action other than show up after the damage is done.

Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is a stone-cold killer and might be the personification of death. The "protagonist" is Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a man who comes across a shootout and steals the money left there. In There Will Be Blood, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis) is almost a vampire, sucking the land dry everywhere he sets up shop.

Neither of these Westerns is a tale of good versus evil, which is a staple of Westerns. Rather, they're filled with gray areas when it comes to morals. Yet, that is what makes them so brilliant. As this poll shows, these are movies that have successfully stood the test of time.

The Western Genre Is Facing An Uncertain Future In 2025

Horizon & Rust Both Failed At The Box Office

There is some thought that the Western genre is facing another downturn in the 2020s. Kevin Costner, the modern-day Western icon equivalent to John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, has fought to keep them alive. However, his most recent release, Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, was a box office and critical failure.

Rust hit in 2024, and it barely made a dent with critics and audiences. However, this does not mean that Westerns are dead. Instead, it seems they have mostly moved to television. Yellowstone, which starred Kevin Costner, was one of the most popular television shows, and its spinoffs are also highly watched by fans.

There are also shows like Lawman: Bass Reeves and Landman that have become critical and fan favorites. There have also been some great Westerns that hit streaming rather than theaters, with The Power of the Dog as a critical favorite and The Harder They Fall as one that connected with fans.

The release of There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men in the same year was an anomaly. These were two movies with a Western theme by brilliant filmmakers. While it proved Westerns could still be massive hits, they also demonstrated that it takes a special filmmaker to bring the classic genre to the present day.