You know what, Philip Quast, the BEST Javert ever is only 5 years older than Crowe. With a personal trainer maybe, he could have done the movie role. He's really handsome (well, my wife says he looks like me, so I assume that's what she meant).
Takeshi Kaga is still young enough to play the part, if they don't mind a Japanese Javert who's also the Chairmen at kitchen stadium.
Something else I didn't care for. The orchestration during ...
SPOILERS FOR 200 YEAR OLD NOVEL
... Javert's suicide in the movie didn't draw the connection between the powerful link between Javert and Valjean. It's the same song Valjean sings in the beginning, because these men are both hard men who've never dealt with kindness before. The film's orchestration for the two songs is wildly different though.