This movie really didn’t sit well with me.  It was full of violence, seemingly purely for the sake of violence.  People were killed indiscriminantly, despite the allusion to groups such as the main one, the railroad group and the Mepache military.  In the beginning we see children enjoying watching a scorpion die, engulfed in a million ants, and then light them on fire.  We then see a bunch of gun-happy men on the roof of a building talking about who can shoot a particular person the best.  We aren’t told what the premise of the shooting is… it just begins and the entire town is involved, with women being trampled, children watching, etc.  Then, a couple of guys see the dead people as a good thing, since they get their boots, etc. rather than realizing that a life was taken.  I understand that one of the main characters shoots their comrade because he is in such bad shape and suffering, but there doesn’t seem to be much real remorse, since they head on their way soon after.  The same thing with Angel, they seem disturbed by watching Angel being drug around by Mepache, but then they accept the offer to go sleep with whores, saying ‘they might as well’.  In short, I really didn’t understand the movie.  I am not all that familiar with Western films, but the level of violence in this film went above and beyond.  It didn’t even seem to matter that it took place in Mexico, the whole film just revolved around killing… they didn’t appear to go to Mexico with any purpose… etc.  It will be interesting to discuss this film and how it constructs Mexico on Thursday… personally, I had a hard time seeing past all the unnecessary violence.