The movie has been called nihilistic in the past, but based on Sheriff Bell's two dreams, it's more about how the world has delved into nonsensical chaos, and those like Bell who remain rooted in the past, can't seem to make sense of it anymore.
What is the message behind No Country for Old Men?
No Country for Old Men pits an “old man” who values justice, morality, and lawfulness against a world in which younger men act according to their own codes. Bell specifically addresses the idea of change, expressing his distaste for new morals, fashions, and customs of contemporary society.
The film follows three main characters: Llewelyn Moss (Brolin), a Vietnam War veteran and welder who stumbles upon a large sum of money in the desert; Anton Chigurh (Bardem), a hitman who is sent to recover the money; and Ed Tom Bell (Jones), a sheriff investigating the crime.
With its blood-soaked scenes, grimy West Texas setting and haunting terror filled moments between characters, No Country for Old Men is both riveting and beautiful. The dialogue is flawlessly delivered and the performances are award worthy.
Sheriff Bell visits his uncle, Ellis. Bell shares the secret that he deserted his squad during World War II, even though the men were either dead or dying. Bell has felt guilty ever since. The experience even drove him into law enforcement in an effort to make up for his past.
In the end, the Mexicans found Moss by tapping the phone of either Sheriff Bell or Carla Jean Moss. Carla Jean told sheriff Bell where Llewellyn was. All the hitmen knew Moss was traveling along the border and that he was trying to get back to his wife.
In 1980, Chigurh is hired to retrieve a satchel holding $2.4 million and finds that it is in the possession of a local welder named Llewelyn Moss, who chanced upon the money while hunting. Chigurh tracks Moss down to a motel using a receiver that connects to a transponder hidden in the satchel.
Killing for Chigurh seems to be like a personal calling, reflective of his philosophy that the choices people make through their lives lead to whatever is happening in the present moment. To Chigurh, if he is about to kill someone, then it is the person's own fault, and Chigurh can do nothing to change their fate.
Death, as it always does, finds Moss but it's not Chigurh who takes him down but rather a random gang of Mexican bandits who learned of his location by tracking his wife and mother. Chigurh gets the money and Bell finds himself contemplating his purpose in the world.
EDIT: The cartel guys kill Llewellyn at the hotel, but do not find the money because they do not know it's in the air duct. Anton arrives later, figures out where the money is, and makes off with it.
Moss, thirty-six, is a self-sufficient, stubborn Vietnam veteran. He is a blue-collar worker, holding down a job as a welder and occupying a trailer with his young wife. The promise of the easier life the drug money could bring him motivates him to steal it.
Who ended up with the money in No Country for Old Men?
Chigurh later recovers the money Moss stole and, true to his earlier threat, comes to kill Moss' wife, Carla Jean. Throughout the movie, Chigurh occasionally leaves the fate of potential victims up to a coin toss, believing faith will decide their survival.
In No Country for Old Men (2007), Anton Chigurh tries to shoot a bird on a bridge at close range and misses. Later, he misses a clear shot at Josh Brolin at the hotel. His character may have bad eyesight. He kills everyone close up.
1st, he takes the bath to clean his wound. then he mixes some povidone iodine, which is that orange brown antiseptic, with the sterile water. and pours this on the wound to avoid infection. afterwards, he puts lidocaine in the syringe.
Despite their differences, Chigurh kills Carla Jean in both versions of "No Country for Old Men" (although the movie only implies he did without showing it).
A man named Chigurh is detained in the sheriff's office with hands cuffed behind his back. A deputy, speaking on the phone, doesn't notice Chigurh passing his linked hands under his legs and rising to his feet. Chigurh strangles the deputy, cutting his carotid artery so he bleeds to death.
Even after Moss is wounded, she trusts his advice, and refuses to help Bell as he attempts to track Moss down. Carla Jean bravely confronts Chigurh at the end of the novel, arguing against his philosophy. Ultimately, Chigurh helps her to accept her fate, and kills her.
Science settles it: Anton Chigurh was actually a psychopath. Here's what else researchers found. Have you ever wondered how a therapist would diagnose some of the best villains in movie history? Or, have you ever engaged in a debate among friends about who were the most realistic villains ever?
Chigurh is a hitman who has no remorse or compassion for other human beings. He is described by one character as a "psychopathic killer", while another character compares him to the bubonic plague.
When the Sheriff returns from checking the bathroom the tape is no longer there - Chigurh walked through it on his way out. It's a little unclear whether he was hiding behind the door or in the adjacent hotel room, but either way he got out in that moment while the Sheriff was checking the bathroom for exits.
Chigurh goes after Moss to retrieve the money, and so begins the chase. Bell, always arriving too late, ends up becoming what he most feared: dispensable. Chigurh escapes, Moss dies, and the fate of Moss's wife is left ambiguous.
