Although it might be early days to make such a sweeping statement, the latest feature by director John Hillcoat is set to be the most breathtaking film of 2010.

Based on Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, the drama unfolds in the near future, 10 years after an unexplained global disaster has reduced the world to a sparsely populated, decimated husk. Travelling along a road that runs through the wasteland is an unnamed man (Aragorn himself, Viggo Mortensen) and his young son (newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee).

As they head towards what they hope to be the sanctuary of the coast, the father’s sole thought is survival – by any means necessary, but also in the most humane way possible. Which is more than can be said for the devious scavengers and nihilistic cannibals that interrupt their passage.

Having already proven himself to be a maestro of unflinching, visceral filmmaking with The Proposition, Hillcoat seemed the ideal choice of director for this much-revered tale. So it comes as no surprise that he and screenwriter Joe Penhall have created an exceptionally faithful adaptation.

What raises Hillcoat’s reflective vision above other apocalyptic cinema is that, instead of letting proceedings be dictated by gratuitous, SFX-centred nonsense (like 2012), he allows the subject matter to speak for itself. Refusing to take the sentimental route, he strips everything down to the bare bone essentials. From the minimal casts’ superb performances to the stunningly bleak cinematography, the entire affair is an exercise in extreme starkness – which is enhanced by Nick Cave and fellow Bad Seed Warren Ellis’ haunting soundtrack.

That doesn’t mean events are bereft of action and disturbing set pieces, though – the scene where dad shows his nipper how to blow his own brains out is gut-wrenchingly poignant.

But the overriding strength of Hillcoat’s movie is down to his understanding of the source material’s profound symbolism. He recognises that ‘the road’ refers to the journey of life – in particular the passage from boy to man, and the reversal of roles that occurs with age and circumstance. They’re sentiments that Hillcoat has embraced and reinterpreted as a truly powerful cinematic experience.

Sure, it’s brutal and incredibly fraught viewing, but then it should be considering the events occur at the end of the world, as we know it.

You’d have to lack both a brain and a heart not to appreciate that The Road is ultimately an optimistic, life-affirming love story – one that’ll stay with you long after the end credits have finished.