One look into the cold, vacant eyes of Javier Bardem in the opening moments of “No Country for Old Men” and you know you’re in for a brutal drama that will not be easy to watch. And it’s not. But the reason isn’t because of Bardem’s frightening performance, or all the blood that is spilled in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s best-selling novel.

Rather, the real difficulty in watching Joel and Ethan Coen’s (“Fargo”) latest effort is its superfluity. Simply put, there are too many characters and extraneous scenes that distract from the main storyline, and as a result the film occasionally loses its focus and momentum. That and a somewhat unorthodox narrative (e.g. we don’t see a key murder that most movies would’ve shown) make it a complex film that’s compelling but not always great.

Bardem plays Anton Chigurh, a mercenary who’s tracking $2 million that’s been lost after a drug deal gone wrong. He is a ruthless killer who murders with a cattle stun gun and only sporadically will flip a coin to allow his would-be victim to determine his/her fate. Bardem’s blank stares, emotionless dialogue and menacing walk make Anton the best screen villain since Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991). Anything less than a supporting actor Oscar for Bardem would be an injustice.

As if Anton needs any help, a transponder was left in the satchel of missing money, which leads him to Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a local hunter who found the money and lives with his wife (Kelly Macdonald) in a nearby trailer park. Always a step behind Anton and Llewelyn is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a grizzled old coot who’s given a wife (Tess Harper), uncle (Barry Corbin) and an assistant (Garret Dillahunt) to play off of, and yet a prolonged absence leaves him never quite fitting into the story. He is clearly the tale’s moral center, but his metaphorical turns-of-phrase that reflect the main storyline are a bit high-minded for a story with such carnage.

For that matter, we also don’t need the subplot involving Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson), a bounty hunter brought on by the corporate exec (Stephen Root) whose $2 million has been lost. Carson has two scenes of note — one with the corporate goon, another with Llewelyn — and in both his sole purpose is to exacerbate the psychopathic dangerousness of Anton, as if that’s necessary.

“No Country for Old Men” is an example of a movie that’s a critical darling but is unlikely to find box office success. Critics, for better or worse, enjoy extolling the virtues of challenging cinema that doesn’t offer easy answers. Fair enough. But “No Country” at times nearly morphs into an existential treatise on life and the dangers of greed, and the pretentiousness is ill-fitting. The story is by no means over the head of the average filmgoer, but it does require more mental involvement than usual.

If you see it — and it’s worth it for Bardem’s performance alone — try to look past all the metaphors and embrace the drama of a great chase between a cold-blooded killer and a hunter with an unwelcome death wish.

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