No Country for Old Men - An explanation

No Country for Old Men is a 2007 movie directed, written, and edited by Joel and Ethan Cohen. Based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. Its enigmatic title actually comes from the first stanza of William Butler Yeast’s poem "Sailing to Byzantium", first published in the 1928 collection The Tower.
This film has been defined as a “neo-western movie” a description which fits it well. Except perhaps that the term neo might suggest that the Western genre is dead and buried.
In this video, I am going to analyse No Country for Old Men from both a narrative and visual point of view. This analysis will allow us to understand the meaning of that ending which has been unjustly defined as disappointing, arbitrary, strained and soulless.
Besides, it will also try to explain why Anton Chigurh is such a disturbing character.
Yes, very, very disturbing.
Enjoy!

[@rechitsapivo]

The movie teaches one important thing: if you find a suitcase with money, check for a tracking device.

[@johnrogan9420]

2 million in cash...think airport...Costa Rica

[@abelmontoya5]

First thing you do is counting the money

[@fightsports66]

@@abelmontoya5 Exactly. As you are counting you will find the tracker.

[@abelmontoya5]

@@fightsports66 caracters in movies always make stupid decisions maybe they are necesary for the plot

[@abelmontoya5]

@@MoTheYounger it happens in real life that's true but in movies the decisions that the caracters make are sometimes totaly absurd and make no sense at all, like going back to give water to a man who most certainly is already dead knowing the place is a big crime scene. One thing I don't like about movies, stupid decisions.

[@mama-earth]

Chigurh is the only villain that actually made me afraid. That is a dangerous man.

[@robertcarter3716]

Try Kazuo Kiriyama from Battle Royale. Guy is insane.

[@deamoncastle5584]

Imo...he's not a man. Or, if he is...he's possessed.

[@Smoke3380]

I would offer that im the guy who roots for villians usually, idk why, maybe im copying deniro from good fellas, but anton is the first i can recall not rooting for, im short circuiting over this.

[@danatcanyonlake583]

I still check under the bed to make sure Anton Chigur is not there!

[@mainpost4111]

You haven't seen DDL in gangs of new york?

[@rixpix2957]

Just my two cents: Read the book, then watch the movie again. You'll understand. Also the man who played the storekeeper is awesome. He never seems to be acting. He is so genuine that you can believe that he owns that little store somewhere in Texas and has never been trained in acting.

[@beauclaus]

This video has a fair amount of overinterpretation that the author indicates throughout his oeuvre: justice is hope; brutality is everywhere.

[@trippykoa245]

Thanks for that adivice 👍🏾I was thinking the same thing about the storekeeper, that performance was absolutely brilliant holy crap

[@rixpix2957]

@@beauclaus Agree

[@rixpix2957]

@@trippykoa245 Neat huh? You're welcome.👍

[@WilliamLesourd]

Which he has...

[@bricecate]

The face anton makes after he says "then it will become just another coin.....which it is...." is brilliant.

[@Mrkmotr]

It is, but kinda ruins the grave tone of the whole scene for me.

[@robo-man8638]

@@Mrkmotr The scene was immediately defused when the old man called the coin correctly. Anton was completely indifferent about the man from that point forward, I thought it was perfect.

[@harizotoh7]

After the coin/fate has decided the man is to live, he's actually quite nice to him and even happy. it's the happiest we ever see Anton in the entire film.

[@bricecate]

@@harizotoh7 more directors and actors should pay attention to this, the villain doesnt have to be CRAZY or menacing, or wild and genius, just very focused on a goal that ruins the main character.

[@bricecate]

@@robo-man8638 he exhaled when he said "well done", almost like he was proud of the man for choosing correctly, and he was just as tense as the man.

[@plataoplomo5204]

I don't think people give the Old man the credit he deserves in toss scene . His acting is phenomenal, and in my opinion, really makes the scene

[@TheMuaythaikidd]

Dante TB simply because it's genuine fear that is showing through his expressions. Absolutely agree!

[@TheMuaythaikidd]

Balian me?

[@FumblsTheSniper]

Definitely agree.

[@xcon4ever1]

Dante TB I agree great scene

[@guyincognito566]

He did win an oscar and was praised universally, but I agree in principal.

[@NorthernChev]

The coin-toss scene with the shopkeeper, in my opinion, is one of the most intense and frighteningly suspenseful movie scenes ever. I fear for that man's life every time I see that scene as if for some reason the outcome just "may" be different this time around... Scares the hell out of me.

[@dbanfield82]

❤️

[@randycunningham7318]

I don't get it. The scene is ok.

[@chriscranston7189]

It's because he's a nice old man and you don't want him killed. Like life, Sugar can be devastatingly cruel without motive. I think Sugar was glad that he called it right. He didn't want to kill him but would have.

[@TheWritter-qo9ty]

Why i find it scary is that the old man has never met in his life who sees him more than a service man but he was here for a purpose and was no ordinary man and his way of speaking made him even more terrifying and dangerous so at that time old man must have been scared to death

[@doitlikedaveydo1009]

How he says well done to the shop keeper after the flip made it seem he was genuinely happy to see him victorious in the contest.

[@ma_s_v]

I laughed at Chigurh's hair when I first saw him but as the movie progresses I became tensed and silent when he's on a scene.

[@theflyinghamster8442]

Chigurh killed the girl, he checked his feet for blood when standing on the veranda when he left the house.

[@johnnyutah194]

Agreed

[@b.patrickbrowning2349]

Yep. Good call.

[@than217]

Yeah, of course. I didn't even know that was debated.

[@fredbernardin3]

In the book, she calls tails. (And it was heads.) This change is (imo) the most interesting by the Cohn's.

[@yodatcht1321]

Definitely. I said that to my friends when he walked out of the house checking his feet. They didn't think he killed her. It seemed obvious to me.

[@punishersnake4888]

6:42 i love this quote "if the rule you followed brought you to this...what use was the rule?" everyone alive should have to ask themselves that one day

[@lisaschuster9187]

On their deathbeds.

[@heavyketchup2424]

This is what I say to modern day traditional conservative

[@EggEnjoyer]

It’s really a meaningless quote. This is basically chigure mocking someone for being a victim of random chance. We only have so much control over our fate, we are all subject of the whims of this world. And the movie proves this quote is bunk by having Chigur nearly die in a random car wreck. All his decisions, all his rules, they mean nothing in the end as anything can kill him at any moment.

[@rickjensen2833]

Mine is always have my .357 mag near.

[@charles-valentinalkan5681]

@@EggEnjoyer ok here is a better phrase : "Chance, fate and death have something in common : they do not make any exceptions, they cannot be reasoned with, hence they are the only things that are just."

[@JingleJoe]

put it on 1.5x speed, thank me later.

[@MasterRoyalSnow]

Fr tho...

[@richard21solava]

?

[@tombarnes3240]

Thank you

[@SugeKnate]

This trick is a game changer. Good looking out Joe!

[@thedr.marioofslanginthoser4171]

JingleJoe Thanks a ton!!

[@trevmac8362]

The only guy in movie history that made a single coin scary

[@azzystillborne9125]

Two face

[@JohnSmith-kz8yo]

@@azzystillborne9125 Ironically played by Tommy Lee Jones...

[@19inkorrect91]

John Smith in the 90s.

[@ngnphuong1528]

Trev Mac what about John Wick with a pencil?

[@nathayelakgonzales4969]

Anton

[@PeninjaPlaysTheThing]

First time I watched it I literally did not realize the dead man at the motel was moss, the confusion was crazy. thanks kek

[@YanTales]

same.....

[@harringboy6779]

Same

[@ah_helou2845]

Yup me too

[@carson535]

I was trying to tell my friend that it was him, he didn't believe me.

[@user-yk1cw8im4h]

wut...I recognised immediatly

[@Darastrixx]

I think that by the end of the film Chigurh was undone by Moss's wife. She was seemingly the first person who didn't call his coin toss, which I believe he still killed her for, but because his own rule had been loop holed so it followed he was distracted and ended up in the car accident. A sign of things to come I reckon.

[@dominicraynes1569]

Darastrixx, he did kill her. he checks his boots for for blood when he leaves the house.

[@viciousKev]

Darastrixx offering her the coin toss in the first place is what betrayed his code. there was no choice for him but to kill her

[@viciousKev]

Garrett Griggs thats fine, but doesnt change that he tried to get out of killing her by offering her the coin toss. he already said she would be killed. thats why he was injured in the wreck, for going against whatever force he lives by

[@dominicraynes1569]

This is exactly why I love movies. No Country for Old Men is one of those movies that will be broken down and analyzed for years.

[@dominicraynes1569]

jim morgan Lol

[@vspec17]

“The cattle-gun redefines human beings as animals.” Genius. Well done. Good on’ya.

[@ivelsuop9104]

I think that the point of the movie is to get you to think, and I think that that is really important. But also it has a message I think, the point is that everything is meaningless and no matter what you try to do, you will, in the end, die, it all ends the same. Is Chigur death? Is he a man? I think he is a bit of both because even for him there are forces outside of his control that act upon him. It challenges everything that you are supposed to believe, and that makes you think, and the conclusion is it is all random, nothing matters, it is all the same, it is all pointless. It is no country for old men because the old man is trying to deal with the world according to his system, but everything is always changing and before you know it the system is nothing like what you thought it was, and you are left behind. Even if you live you feel useless and life is empty, no matter what happens you lose, everyone loses.

[@thatswhatshesaid15]

Nihilistic approach. That's the physical reality you refer to. But the metaphysical realm is a suppressed topic of mainstream consciousness. Material nihilism is an unfortunate outlook most folks have, and it's one of the reasons society is the way it is, as demonstrated in the movie ..

[@machbaby]

Chigurh is not in the motel room when Bell enters. There is no closet from that angle. And he clearly is not hiding behind the door. What we are seeing is the sheriff's worst fear being projected- yet he goes in anyway to confront personnel demons from his past (explained in the book). If Chigurh were in the room, he would of just shot Bell and be done with it. He had the element of surprise, and never would have gambled on being discovered by an armed lawman.

[@GigTube]

it's true, he was in the room next door.

[@DougieFresh13]

+Chad9976 plus he took the loot from the vent, hence the dime.... imo

[@Blastadonn]

Still he was hiding.

[@machbaby]

Where?

[@benjaminfloman2663]

He was hiding in the next motel room over. Evidence: They show the bolts to the air duct observed on the floor by the sheriff. We can thus assume, based on what Moss did earlier in the movie by hiding the money in an adjacent room, that this same strategy was used again at this motel. This time, however, Chigurh is on to him, so goodbye Llewelyn. When the sheriff checks the room, he does so only to find it empty. In my opinion, I think when he sees the air duct bolts on the floor, he knows, deep down, that the assassin is next door; but he prefers retirement over gun blazed glory. Y'all buy any of that?

[@moviebufftexas5277]

Overall some interesting thoughts - but I think you missed something key. Chigurh doesn't have the door closed in his face and and thus there is no end of an era. The scene at the motel is in fact another coin toss. When Ed Tom steps out of the cruiser the camera focuses on him approaching something. We see in his face that he has already made a choice and his heading toward it. The camera then reverses and we see the two sides of the coin laid out in front of him. On the left room 114 and on the right room 112. The door lock is blown out on both of them by Chighur's cattle gun. Ed Tom has chosen room 114 - the room where Llewelyn died - which is empty. Behind the door of room 112 sits Anton Chigurh - gun at the ready - waiting for Ed Tom to enter. Watch Ed Tom as he walks into the room. We see Chigurh behind the other door waiting (though we don't know which room he is in at this point - IOW - we don't yet know whether the coin was in Ed Tom's favor). Ed Tom draws his gun and starts to raise it. But by the time he has pushed the door open his gun is down. He has accepted whatever will happen when he opens the door. He has made his call on the coin toss. He quickly scans the room and sees nobody has left out the only exit (the bathroom window) and sits on the bed. He looks down and sees the coin and the vent. At this point he knows Chigurh is in the next room - but he does nothing. He knows the stakes of the coin. It is not the end of an era. This is the end of Ed Tom. Nihilism is a frequent theme in many Coen brothers films and it can be off putting for people. Arbitrary and soulless are uncomfortable - but so is this movie. And of course it is brilliant as well.

[@quinnokeefe4684]

Movie Buff, Thought provoking idea you bring. Respectfully, however, I'm not sure the camera angles support your premise. The door lock on room 112 is on the right. If Chighur was seeing Ed Tom's reflection in the empty lock cylinder he would have had to be staring down from the left of the door he was standing behind. In short, if he were standing behind the door of 112, there would be no reflection to see. Moreover, the air duct where the money was hidden does not have a wide enough shaft to allow for the same hiding game that was played earlier in the first hotel. So I can't fathom a reason for Chighur to be standing in room 112 to begin with.

[@moviebufftexas5277]

The door of the room Ed Tom enters - we see it touch the wall on opening - so no way Chigurh can be behind it. We know he is behind one of the two doors - so that leaves 112. Camera angle is in fact correct. The door of 114 opens in to the right leaving a small space between it and the wall. Chigurh is clearly off to the right of the hole (looking from the outside) and cannot fit in that space. The door of 112 opens to the left which means the open part of the room is to the right and that is indeed where we find Chigurh. Again - coin flip repeated throughout the film in numerous ways. As for the vent - it is calling out that Chigurh has been there. Whether the money would fit or not is irrelevant. Chigurh looked there because it is where Llewelyn had hidden it during the last hotel encounter. It lets Ed Tom know he was there after the fact and by virtue of the fact that we acknowledge Ed Tom saw both door locks blown in we assume he would go looking in the next room. Instead he takes his coin flip victory and sits on the bed. Why would Chigurh be standing in 112? Because there is a vent that passes between the two rooms just as there was when he ran into Llewelyn the first time. He was in the process of checking the "second room" when Ed Tom pulled up and cornered him. Again - coin flip.

[@quinnokeefe4684]

Movie buff, Well, you got me to look at the sequence a few times. I follow your logic, but it still doesn't hill square with me. However, I can't help but see that there are flaws in my case as well. This has brought me to the conclusion that I may be overthinking this whole scene. Could it be that both of us are wrong? Could it be that the image of Chigurh in the dark room is simply the representation of the fear in the mind of Ed Tom? His worst fears may be "behind the door" so to speak. The ambiguities of the sequence may have been purposeful.

[@dorotheabinglerhatcher2597]

Hopefully they’ll make a sequel

[@SimplyLimbo]

MovieBuff Texas pessimism. Not nihilism.

[@briansmobile1]

Well done.

[@thirdhandlv4231]

Don’t put it in your pocket.

[@cleverbachelor5953]

What business is that of yours.. freindo

[@Mario-vr7dr]

It's your lucky coin.

[@_KingofKingss]

Which it is

[@adamh.2791]

Don’t put it in your pocket, or it could get mixed in with all the others and become just a coin...which it is.

[@zebontheweb]

My take, this movie is all about CHANCE. From the moment he finds the money, to every coin toss, to the final car crash. Everything that seems random, happens for a reason. And that defines CHANCE.

[@TLovetoDance012]

Well there is another way to look at it. It’s called choices. For instance, if Josh Brolin’s character never went back to give the water to the guy he may have gotten away with it. Choices.

[@issamikbi3337]

@@TLovetoDance012 quite the opposite

[@xergiok2322]

​@@TLovetoDance012 Choices is decidedly not what this film is about, but rather the opposite: powerlessness in a changing world. Nothing wrong with emphasising one's own agency, of course, but that would be a fundamental misreading of this film.

[@robertomonteiro3410]

The guy when Anton asking "Maybe...You see me ?". Obviously that guy said "I Don't". If he says Yes. Will be killed... I agree with You is about Choices X Fate

[@okentendo]

@@TLovetoDance012 he would not got away because the wallet had a signal receiver. Anton would easily find him

[@CatAtomic99]

Chigurh isn't a character so much as a representation of fate, I think. He's completely uncaring about peoples' pain, and just plods along relentlessly. He's a reminder that the world isn't fair, and that trying to impose order on it may not be pointless, but it's ultimately hopeless.

[@cllwydd]

I agree. He takes himself out of the drama with the coin flip. It's interesting that he kills in cold blood, but never lies.

[@MonstersNotUnderTheBed]

You, and the video maker, are so wildly off-target with these disconnecting, nonsensical symbolism analyses.

[@simonbargiora6470]

The Burning Sensation He is still definitely a character though. And an enigma.

[@simonbargiora6470]

The Truth of the Matter I thought I was going to be the only one that picked up on that, which was probably arrogant of me, and I don't know why for certain, but British people have a tendency to allegorize everything. I think they are afraid of literal truth or cannot possibly comprehend how anyone or thing could just mean what it says it means, on the surface. They are the types who think Plato and Aristotle were great geniuses, although if you were to ask, "how so?" you will get a most generic answer. They also like to make up pre-histrory and languages that nobody has ever heard or seen based on alleged similarities between Greek and Sanskrit that are so few in number and so better explained as loan words that any logical mind will be refuse to accept the hypothetical PIE language (academias fuck you to all non Europeans and it's own students if they are stupid enough to accept that this passes for knowledge).

[@ronj9448]

Fate. Like a Bergman film.

[@mikesmith6838]

My favorite quote from the book, which was omitted from the movie came as one of the chapters monologues that the Sheriff gives, “Here a year or two back me and Loretta went to a conference...I got set next to this woman...she kept talkin about the right wing this and the right wing that. I aint even sure what she meant by it...She kept on, kept on. Finally told me, said: I dont like the way this country is headed. I want my granddaughter to be able to have an abortion. And I said well mam I dont think you got any worries about the way the country is headed. The way I see it goin I dont have much doubt but what she'll be able to have an abortion. I'm goin to say that not only will she be able to have an abortion, she'll be able to have you put to sleep. Which pretty much ended the conversation.” Here, the Sheriff basically states his fear; things are getting worse. Later, his friend and fellow ex-Sheriff, EdTom sets him straight by relating an old story of a band of Native Americans who kill a settler on his front porch. EdTom leaves nothing open for interpretation by saying what the current Sheriff is dealing with is no different than what's always been around. He's just getting old and it seems worse.

[@mikesmith6838]

Yes, meant the other older man, the one with the cats.

[@moparedtn]

Ellis.

[@AdamSzm]

Mike Smith Great quote I must say. And spot on. They started us on the abortion and made it digestible for the gullible feminists and SJWs under the euphemism of 'reproductive rights' and now it's all leading towards euthanasia.

[@dustinf49]

I just want to let everyone know: I watched both of my grandparents die in a nursing home. My Grandmother passed in her sleep. My Grandfather died while I watched him pointing to his throat with fear in his eyes. Do you all know how they kill old people in the nursing home? They stop giving them water. They only allow them wet wash rags and ice chips. So I ask; what's the difference from a nursing home and hospice-literally killing people, and assisted suicide?

[@jiggajigjones8210]

Dustin 3423 I did not know that.

[@drinkwater319]

Moss is smart throughout the film then walks straight into a trap, the girl, that is so obvious it’s embarrassing that he almost allowed himself to be killed. The fact he doesn’t suspect her is bamboozling

[@JadeDude1973]

I don't think she was a trap, I think she was just a bad idea... and the fact that Moss would spend time with her while his wife was worried sick about him tells us he is not a "good guy."

[@Klaital1]

@@JadeDude1973 Honestly, the fact he kept the obviously illicit money in the first place instead of taking it to the police already showed he is not a good guy.

[@HeartTribe]

@@JadeDude1973 he spent time wit her? How do you know?

[@iAmDe123]

@@JadeDude1973 There is no evidence of that besides mild flirting. He dies in his own room. If he cheated the would have been in the other woman's room and perhaps might have lived.

[@davecollier8054]

So the woman was working for the Mexicans? Dang man I think you got it right and I missed that entirely.

[@rval588]

Actual title...."No Happy Endings For Movie Audiences."

[@socaldazed6076]

if you like this movie, and there's so many unanswered questions, you'll love the book... A lot more detail, a lot more back story, you find out why Anton was arrested at the beginning, Llewelyn drives to El Paso with a sketchy teenage girl hitchhiker .... I always thought Woody Harrelson was wrong for that role, when you read it, you picture a Tom Berenger-type from Platoon...telling Llewelyn "you're not cut out for this, you don't understand".......that's why books are awesome

[@TheRealNormanBates]

Well.. keep in mind, Woody Harrelson did play a pretty despicable character in NATURAL BORN KILLERS.

[@izzysmallz6202]

do you mind telling me why he was arrested in beginning? at first I thought they were telling story backwards like in carlitos way.. book name too please

[@socaldazed6076]

in the scene where Anton has the gun on Carson in the hotel room, he tells Carson about getting arrested. He was in a diner having dinner. when he went to pay his check and leave, some guy at the counter made a comment 'he couldn't ignore'. So he invited the guy outside to talk. in the parking lot they had a fight and Anton killed him with a choke hold. His friends were trying to revive the guy when Anton drove away. Then he was arrested the next day.

[@jjsmith706]

"book name too please" What the fuck? Are you asking the name of the book that No Country for Old Men is based on???

[@Schrodinger_]

Is it as good as Blood Meridian?

[@piro4351]

chigurhs acent or way of speaking and tone are another anomaly..he just doesnt belong there ..into this scenary..he is a walking neutrum..an enigma..

[@Masterworldz98]

I hope this doesn't make me sound stupid but whenever Anton spoke, his voice was difficult to understand because it was SO LOW and raspy. I had to turn on subs to understand him.

[@mitchellbowman22]

The shootout on the street in the middle of the night was so intense I felt it for weeks after

[@DangerClose13E]

Whenever I hear the word psychopath......I imagine Chigurh.

[@rickjensen2833]

Joe pesci

[@DangerClose13E]

@@rickjensen2833 In what role?

[@rickjensen2833]

@@DangerClose13E casino and goodfellas

[@mattwardpictures]

@@rickjensen2833 You must have read "The Psychopath Inside" by neuroscientist Dr. James Fallon! He (a diagnosed psychopath) actually cited the Tommy DeVito character in GoodFellas as being one of the most realistic portrayals of a low-functioning psychopath in Hollywood cinema (with William Petersen's Will Graham character in Manhunter being a good portrayal of a high-functioning psychopath, iirc.) Also worth noting that psychopathy as a mental condition doesn't automatically make one want to kill people (plenty more neurotypical murderers/sadists out there.)

[@rickjensen2833]

@@mattwardpictures usually a person that is kind to animals is a safe bet of not being one.

[@maxsmodels]

Chugar represents either death or chance depending on how you view the film. Moss is human fallibility whereas the sheriff is virtue.

[@aheroictaxidriver3180]

Is there no redemption?

[@SonicVision]

Nope

[@AtariBorn]

It's the deputy's shadow on the television, by the way. He's standing in the doorway and the sheriff is reflecting in the tube of the television.

[@salamanca1954]

Chigurh ends up killing the sheriff as well. When he turned down the final duel, the sheriff admitted defeat. In the final scene, he describes a dream. This is his death dream, and it's clear he won't be far behind. I walked out of that film stunned.

[@djentile7773]

I've watched multiple interpretations of this movie in video format, and it is very interesting how totally different each one is.

[@phapnui]

Got me thinking about the backgrounds of the main characters. Sheriff from a stable background/tradition of relatives in law enforcement and is sorely disturbed how society has changed. Llewelyn seems to be working class as a welder, relatively stable but conditioned by Vietnam War. We see him hunting animals then being hunted again by Anton. So what could possibly be his background? From my experience in working with abused children and studying backgrounds of serial killers, I wonder if Anton had been severely abused as a child. Too many children I brought to hospital for treatment that revealed fractures to arms and legs yet experienced no pain. Most of the serial killers I studied had documented horrific abuse in their background. The most chilling book I have ever read is an account of one who explained what his thoughts were during a fiver year rampage of torture and murder, "Robert Carr:5 Years of Rape and Murder. All of us are the product of our conditioning since childhood by parents, friends, teachers and others. Does the "self" even exist?

[@danpt2000]

sounds like you repeated what was stated in this video.

[@mintd8365]

+danpt2000 so?

[@danpt2000]

MintD 83 so?

[@phapnui]

She said naught about background of Anton. He exhibits all the aspects of a sociopath. they know all the social graces, they are just incapable of feeling them.

[@phapnui]

So, the main question remains: does the "self" exist"? the answer should be obvious.

[@rosstapson]

My favourite movie ever, I think. I thoroughly enjoyed this interpretation of it, and a lot of the comments as well. May I say that the ending where the sheriff describes his dreams is possibly the greatest thing ever committed to film. Much love to everyone here for their strong opinions, art should hurt :)

[@CrimsonHelldrake]

They never did get around to making the sequel to this "Yes Cuntry for Young Women" even though we were all waiting on the edge of our seat for it...

[@sidneyshaw9205]

Wait...what??

[@jamesderoc6717]

they made it. its a lesbian porno

[@CrimsonHelldrake]

Could you send me a link? I googled "Yes Country for Young Women" & I couldn't find anything called that but if they did make something called exactly "Yes Country for Young Women" then I will watch it start to end. I am glad someone knows of the existence of such a film & possibly where to locate it, I have wanted to see it ever since I finished watching No Country for Old MEn

[@smellmyclock]

I died

[@golfmaniac007]

its playing on promhub

[@colinpoitras8769]

Been awhile since I saw this movie. What I remember thinking was that there was no "good" or "bad" guys. Moss was set up as the good character, but his sole motivation was collecting drug money. He left a wounded man to die. He would not qualify as good in any traditional sense. I think Chigurh represents the randomness of life and death. He flips a coin that decides peoples fate. He kills without emotion. He kills or lets live with no emotional investment. He walks away at the end, and we are left to guess at his fate. I think this is meant to mean that there is no fair or unfair in life. Evil, and good exist and we run into both at random. Evil people prosper, and good people suffer and there is nothing that can be done about it. The Jones character is harder to figure out. I think maybe he is meant to show us that there is no way to understand or change the way life happens. He always is a step behind, observing the carnage, and is left to try to understand the things he's seeing. In the end, he dreams of being alone in the wild with a fire. Is this saying that in the end we are on our own, and can only live our own lives? I don't know. I loved this film. Another MacCarthy book "The Road" seems to have alot of the same bleak themes about good and evil and the random nature of it all. Or, Im an idiot an missed the point entirely.

[@mikearchibald744]

No, he's not supposed to be 'good'. The 'good' guys are the police like jones. He is following a storyline made up all of bad guys. Moss is not only poaching, but then steals what doens't belong to him, which sets the whole thing in motion leading to not only his death but his wifes. Definitely not a 'good guy'. Represntation is something else entirely and books are full of different interpretations from films and books. You could also say he's literal 'insanity', although you could argue that the 'randomness of life and death' are insane, but again, you have to remember that LONG before the coin toss comes along, other parts are moving. If the bad guy hadn't stolen the money, his wife and he would be alive. So don't steal drug dealers money kids! But if you are interpreting, then coen brothers films usually aren't 'people' but ideas. The evil people in this case is stephen Roots character, and he wasn't prospering by the end. The two boys at the end are just fine, so apart from the store owner, who of course meet 'characters' like this every day and it obviously wouldn't have played out like that. Store owners usually have been robbed so many times even in the eighties that they are well prepared in texas. I actually didn't like the film, I thought it was cheesy and violent with no real purpose. It almost reads as american propaganda in a sense and I went to a couple of sites just to get that idea out so that I can forget the movie, thats the good thing about social media. Blood Simple at least had redeeming complexities to it, this was just too 'black and white' but with some literary possibilities thrown in to make it academically interesting. Even the Coens admitted that the main thing they liked aobut its 'genre stretching' was the fact that the protagonist and antogonist don't ever meet. But thats pretty thinly sliced literary complexity. In the end what it does is what WAY too many hollywood movies do, which is make people fear strangers. Anybody out there could be a guy on a mission who will shoot you for nothing to do with you. If that were LESS common in movies I wouldn't mind so much, but its way too common in both Coen brothers films and hollywood movies at large.

[@pigster8]

@@mikearchibald744 I like what your saying but I'm not sure if its true

[@tavo2422]

No Country for Old Men and There will be blood. I can watch those two movies over and over.

[@brainblender455]

Wow, everybody is asking me about There will be blood... maybe I should really work on it!

[@MikeSW]

I've recommended There Will Be Blood to everyone I know, four of whom I sat down alongside to make sure they watched it. Somehow everyone who did watch it fell asleep. Funny thing, that.

[@Zimpfnis]

For Recreational Use Only it's the kind kind of slow, soft, depressing movie that I love but that makes fans of the avengers and similar movies fall asleep. Matter of taste I guess

[@sfolorunsho]

Brain Blender also nightcrawler starting Jake gyellehaal

[@jamiewells5816]

nightcrawler was excellent

[@wulwul5067]

Love how you did character introductions in “The Good The Bad and The Ugly” Style

[@lenny5312]

This is probably the best analysis that I’ve seen this movie. Excellent job.

[@jomormont]

My favorite movie score of all time is No Country for Old Men. Unforgettable.

[@joannanorma]

They aren't wind turbines they are common old windmills

[@KitLaughlin]

which pump water.

[@MonstersNotUnderTheBed]

Yeah. NO ONE..... I repeat..... NO ONE here in Texas calls those "wind turbines". They aren't a turbine.

[@jimcrawford5039]

Joanna Rees-Jones water pump to be exact. Plenty here in Australia.

[@c.shearin5814]

It's called a windmill in Texas... Period.

[@michaelcarey299]

That's what I said - to myself

[@luckyred1818]

Anton represented fate, not evil

[@NessieAndrew]

Anton represents the psychopath that thinks he is right and uses destiny as an excuse to continue his spree.

[@dukatelon9040]

@@NessieAndrew In the literal way,yeah. He is a immoral psychopath who has no sense of empathy. But to the reader/watcher he is an embodiment of fate. You aren't supposed to watch this movie with a literal mind anyways,it's all metaphor after metaphor. I give it a 5/7.

[@aloring]

It’s no wonder I had respect for Chigurh

[@dylanhill5]

He is like a natural evil.

[@Krawberry]

He’s death

[@troylink2887]

I’ve always thought Chigurh represents fate. The cowboy represents free will. And the sherif is the narrator.

[@arjanroelf]

Yes, the sheriff is the main character as per the book.

[@davecollier8054]

Chigurh is known to have a past which we learn thru Wells description. Chigurh does express himself by shooting at the vulture from his vehicle, a spontaneous act.

[@aheroictaxidriver3180]

There ain't no vultures.

[@AnwarMadrigal]

I think these sort of dissections can sometimes miss the obvious. Anton's first victim wasn't granted the coin toss, The guy that Moss stops in the street in the pickup didn't either. Chigur is a criminal sociopath and if there's any pattern to be recognized is that he hates the average person's helplessness. He didn't kill the leasing office lady because that would attract attention from the police. He wants the money and that's it. The coin is a device that serves his sadistic nature and nothing more

[@VhsVcr]

if he wants the money, why did he leave it in the car at the end?

[@smartyjonez7238]

No. He didn’t want the money at all

[@estoylaroca]

If Anton wanted money, then he wouldn't be a scary individual at all. He'd also be less cunning at that. What makes him scary, is the fact that he doesn't have any defining goal. What I get from the ending is, is that Ed has come to realize that some people are just plain evil, for no reason at all.

[@chocodiledundee1]

M-T great point

[@chocodiledundee1]

Smarty Jonez yes he left the money in the car

[@Chrisalad]

In an attempt to discover the whereabouts of her husband, there was a specific scene where the sheriff sat inside of his favorite diner with Carla. He told her a story about a cattle rancher who was trying to kill a bull. In the story the rancher shot at the bull, missed, and inadvertently injured himself with the ricocheted bullet losing most use of his arm. - What is your take on the correlation between this story and Anton's eerily similar situation with a broken arm at the end of the film. Do you think that this was a nudge towards the character being struck by his own devices?

[@brainblender455]

Hello Christopher, yes, I agree with you. This is one of the sections I had to remove from the original video for it would have taken too much time. In my view, the story of the cattle rancher sheds light on the weak side of Chigurh's philosophy: he treats humans as animals (the cattle-gun) but "even in the contest between man and steer the issue is not certain." (Bell).

[@hectorosi8339]

No Country for Old MMMMen movieee here => twitter.com/99b26f0690bd92065/status/795842843017297920 Noooo Country for OOOld Men An expppplanation

[@anantambisht4895]

Christopher Todd yah the interperation's totally missed the conversation part of sherif with his wife carla

[@tikitavi7120]

I always felt the Harrelson part did not help the film one bit.

[@digitalsidestreet]

Totally agree--it could have easily been a deleted scene.

[@frommarstosirius9511]

Harrelson's a legend. Was great to see him get a role in this awesome flick. That being said. His character was arrogant and it was refreshing to see him get blasted like that in the hotel room.

[@adamchapman3922]

I disagree. He gives Chigurh an established backstory, that he has certain rules and motivations. And his character also shows that even understanding Chigurh doesn't mean you'll beat him.

[@flyinglions2223]

Adam Chapman It also completes the idea of the western stereotype that the movie convinced us of up until the death of Moss

[@davecummings7477]

The most important character in the whole movie is never mentioned- the girl. She is the fragile, pure, and honest thing that we all should be protecting. She is the victim who is sold out and failed by everyone in the film. She gets no choice, and even rejects the coin toss. And her man, even while being hunted, cheats on her, which is what ultimately gets him killed. But even to the end she stays noble. She buries her mother, walks into the room where the killer sits and boldly calls the guy crazy to his face. Then with all purity, she forces him to make his choice without fear. Her fate is implied, but ultimately unknown. She is the hero. There is also no mention of the primary weapon of the villain. It is as bizarre, eccentric, and as misunderstood as the villain. Even the Sheriff sees the lock removed from door, but he doesn't fully get it.

[@Allen_Leigh_Canada]

She is the only empathable person in the story, and yes, she was courageous and brave. Having said that, practically, if she called it, they would have 50% chance of survival.

[@bradnowall300]

beautiful! Well done, always love learning more about this movie!

[@brainblender455]

Thanks!

[@elaineeklund6290]

dan macmoo

[@bones22j]

Just finished this movie and was looking for an explanation. This works for me. Thanks.

[@kahsa1076]

bones22j There's a lot more and deeper to it too. This was a great vid with some unique points, but there are some other great vids and written analyses that are very well worth checking out. I was baffled by my first couple viewings, and after reading and watching some of those analyses it blew me away and made it all so much more enjoyable and appreciated. Now I'm a massive Coen Brothers fan! Check out a few things from a google search 👍😎

[@mtnnoel63]

bones22j ,,, Wait you get into your fifties in your totally understand this movie. Societie any more isn't set up for older people. Unfortunately the young people don't realize they will be old people some day.

[@salamanca1954]

Great analysis, Mr. Blender. It makes clear so much of what once was so murky. I think, in support of your rules theory, that one must also consider what Chigurh is told repeatedly by his victims: "You don't have to do this." But he knows that he does have to do it. For some reason or doom, he is bound as much as anyone, and all the main characters are similarly bound in a way that gives a dread air of clockwork inevitability to the plot. The tension never is resolved, and we watch in horror the film's final scenes, leaving us without a catharsis, just a wandering, random image of Chigurh, now without a purpose, and a former sheriff, also now bereft of purpose, relating the dream of his own death, which we know now, is inevitable.

[@dougsaunders5551]

The best analysis of this film i've seen. Bravo sir.

[@NinjaTrickVideos]

My thoughts- Shigur is trying to find any validation that there is more to life than chance. He plays his games in hopes someone will actually prove them to be silly. He doesn't like the coin toss- and he hopes someone will find a way out. The Sheriff is actually able to walk away from his rules to spare needless death (his own). Maybe this is why Shigur never hunts him down like the others- the Sheriff was able to some degree "see as he does" or "get on his level" This is why I think it ended with the vision- the vision was all "happy ending" and good, but then he "woke up". Life is chance, and probability greater than principal. It's not a country for old men who have seen this truth that Shigur is trying to disprove all the while acting on it.

[@DarknessEmpireLeader626]

*Chigurh

[@AndreXMichael]

DarkEmpire626 English teacher ass nigga

[@DarknessEmpireLeader626]

Dre FromRegal​​ You want to fail this class again?

[@briananderson6742]

Great comment.

[@miller9362]

NinjaTrickVideos skf

[@outlawm1]

I think the reason why they didn't show a final duel between Anton and Llewelyn is because it would imply that Llewelyn even had a chance. A duel scene isn't even necessary when the whole movie built up the fact that Anton was an unstoppable machine that couldn't be derailed by the likes of the average man.

[@RONGEE2099]

This is one of the finest movies ever made

[@dogstar8871]

largely overlooked: this film has virtually no musical sound track

[@KyleGauntReviews]

Phenomenal analysis!! Javier Bardem was a spectacular villain and the way you explained the coin toss sequence was very educational

[@thelocustemperor]

well said my friend, a lot of care was taken in your analysis of the movie, I have to say I really appreciate it and I'm going to go watch it again right now!!

[@ddave7026]

Cousin breaks it down. " thats vanity, cant stop whats commin'" You cant save the world and the wicked propser. Your role is as is. Fate. "i always thought God would come into my life..but he didnt" You HAVE TO SEEK.

[@Brak0777]

That was well done. This movie is loaded with metaphor and sometimes it's confusing and I appreciate how you broke it down. Thanks a lot.

[@AxisAngles]

I disagree about the flipping the coin before the call thing. He does that to make the statement "this is going to happen. You have no choice to call it."

[@seanbillmyer6962]

Axis Angles but they do have a choice

[@AxisAngles]

He forcing them into taking a chance by having already flipped the coin. Either they take the chance or they take nothing at all.

[@JohnSmith-jx7vv]

But u do have a choice.. You choose to call it or not.. If u don't call it, u die like his wife at the end. Pretty simple logic dude

[@jimbobalob2491]

John Smith..I don't think he killed the wife at the end. He already flipped the coin but she refused to call it. Like he said to the guy at the service station "I can't call it for you" and so if he did kill her, then that would mean he did call it for her.

[@sonofnothing]

since he was born

[@marcusaureli0s95]

best analysis out there. keep it up!

[@nickcorran]

Anton is not in the motel when Bell enters. That’s is why we get the close ups of Bell checking the windows which are locked from the inside - which means that Anton could not have left the motel. The scene does not make sense - which is the whole purpose of the scene. It relates to Bells speech at the beginning of the film. You can’t take the measure of the violence now. There is something out there which he does not understand Bell is literally left in the dark. As are we.

[@anuragagrawal7287]

One thing i need to point out and that is so interesting. When Carla and her mother were going to El Paso, Carla calls the sheriff, just listen the conversation and notice the change in voice over the phone of sheriff. First he called Carla by her "name" than he suddenly called her by "ma'am" like somebody got awaken from dream, than again notice the change in voice further where he said "Carla Jean, I will not harm your man And he needs help, whether he knows it or not." That is so strange. Just watch it once you'll be amazed.

[@burninbiomass]

#4 I see a different way. I look at the coin as Schrodinger's Cat. Until reveled, the coin is neither heads or tails, it is in flux, as is the life of the person being told to choose.

[@davidfreud9188]

wow, deep. I have to agree with you after giving it some thought

[@gavinhudson3064]

Good point.

[@grantbeerling4396]

yep.....good abstract metaphor.....

[@techspider7486]

@pyropulse Literally google Schrodinger's Cat you moron. If you don't know what's cooking then stay the hell out of the kitchen.

[@richardbird8097]

@@techspider7486 i see it as a play on the name Coen. just that and only that.

[@cfpzona]

An absolute masterpiece by the Coen brothers. It's another one of those classics that never gets old even though I've seen it many times.

[@shepardren8006]

This is the most detailed breakdown I've seen of this movie. And I've seen just about all of them.

[@mywaveinwoodswoodperfumes]

What a brilliant explanation and analysis, thank you

[@xergiok2322]

I'm not sure it is at all certain that Chigurh was actually behind the door, or even in the room, when Bell enters. Just before this scene, Bell described Chigurh as "a ghost", and I don't think it's a coincidence that it's left ambiguous whether he was actually in the room or not. On the one hand there doesn't seem to be enough room to fit a person behind that door, on the other hand the area is completely dark. It could just as well have been what Bell was picturing in his mind before he opened the door, or a from an earlier point in time when Chigurh was actually in the room. Or perhaps he was actually there. At any rate, we see no evidence of his presence once Bell enters the room.

[@Devlbaby]

Interesting take on the detail of the windmills and perhaps worth mention in the last scene in which for the fourth and final time a windmill appears montionless over the shoulder and as "through a glass darkly". Cheers

[@Joshuadanielcohen]

Beautiful video and analysis. Probably the most unique and insightful commentary I’ve seen on this incredible movie!

[@ihavetubes]

After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.

[@cal5754]

I feel that by Antons rules, his life was always leading to that car crashing into him, it was fate

[@contactkeithstack]

This is one of those movies where for most people it teaches more than can be explained. If you try, you end up reducing it to cliches. But in your heart you feel you've learned something new. Just a great film. When Anton asks Carla Jean to pick heads or tails and she says - it's not the coin it's just you - and then he replies - I came here the same way the coin did. The old timer towards the end says you can't stop what's coming, thinking that you can, that's vanity. Then the dream at the end where his father passes him in the cold dark mountains to make a small fire. You can say what all that adds up to but it will likely feel simple, rehashed. That is one reason why art is so crucial. It's the only medium that can pass knowledge beyond what it intends.

[@peterlovett5841]

The story is based on a medieval morality play and many of the points you make can be seen in that light. Chigurh is the devil, Moss has a choice between good and evil and pays with his life for his decision, Bell represents the way of righteousness. The dream that Bell recounts at the end of the film is the key to the story's roots as it is essentially the beginning of the morality play.

[@paulmarion3013]

Wow, well done sir. This is one of my favorite movies and have watched a lot of explanation videos of it, but this goes very in depth. I applaud your effort! Great job!

[@tommytruth7595]

It did but some of what that guy came up with is pretty wild.

[@VNVgirl]

I really enjoyed your explanation of everything. I enjoyed this film but felt so uneasy after watching it. I believe I understood most of what all of the characters meant in their positions and actions, but you explaining it all so perfectly really put me at ease. Thank you! Cheers! I sub'd you :)

[@brainblender455]

Thank you miss, much obliged!

[@MsDboyy]

Do The Movie There Will Be Blood Next !!!!!

[@genesisbustamante-durian]

holy shit this is 2 deep 4 me

[@marshallzane3461]

It's not that deep... Or at least to someone with half a brain

[@remembertotakeshowerspleas355]

+Marshall Zane Fuck right off.

[@testify225]

its as deep as you can make it

[@uncleankie9436]

genesis bustamante ..no not really..just people who make things so complex that they themselves only understand it and when others don't understand it they are made to feel stupid or slow..

[@Evil_Morty2000]

Lol,people overthink this movie too much.Anton is a psychopath.That is why it is so hard for a normal person to comprehend him and they start overthinking.Do a little research on psychopathy,watch some documentaries about Richard Kuklinski and it will bring you a little closer to the truth.Hey,Anton just might have a family somewhere out in the suburbs and might be even taking his kiddos on camping trips when he gets back home from "work".

[@rosicroix777]

Did anybody but me get his name, Chigurh, its short for Chigurgeon, bone doctor or man who works with bone OR bone man, pretty good name for the grim reaper ya think. I know, nobody looks up names last used in the15th century much, maybe u should ...

[@martinmon3123]

--cLAsic-- you good?

[@slothstradamus89]

--cLAsic-- You call him out for an astute observation...yet you can't even spell "losers" correctly...ooookay then.

[@rosicroix777]

Yeah but you do realise chigurgeon is an actual word dont you? You may have to look, but you'll find it. & my emphasis on stating it was to show an even deeper meaning to what the creator of this video expounded about this film & the character. You do know that such comments do make readers consider you to be some form of troll ? As for the 15th century reference I appologize, as I've since found that it was still in common useage @ the time of the american civil war, so the 19th century, my bad. But when the hell does having a bit of archaic knowledge & the desire to help diseminate it to a wider audience make someone a danger (or near one as you state ) to society ? Such doesnt mean I need help, it just means I've a brain that retains things I've read in books, you remember books right? By the way, how old are you ? I havnt had anyone call me Sir since I left the Marine Corps. That you mock those with knowledge really make me question your age as well as your maturity level. Lastly knowledge doesnt make anyone special, its there for all to embrace including yourself.

[@rosicroix777]

E2 PISC

[@rosicroix777]

Thats allright, Honesty goes really far in the world & tends to disqualify someone as a troll as they dont know what that is. You however do understand. Also I was really suprised that you didnt use explictives which most use as the most common of retorts. I got a computer bug a month ago & we would've had this conversation then if my damn kid hadn't been using my laptop to look @ porn. Sorry, TMI. You have a great night bro

[@lendlkaiser3622]

In the end of the movie when the sherif is talking to his wife about the dream he had of his Dad, who had passed on, being younger than the sheriff,because I have had a very similar dream about my own father,my Dad shows up to give me a ride somewhere and my Mother is in the car too! totally absorbing mentally!

[@michaelhaas5607]

You're spot on that Chigurh is not human, I think. He says after he kills the corporate guy,"...that's foolish. You pick the right tool for the job." That's how Chigurh sees himself. As a fixer, (welder, anyone?) He does not take responsibility for his actions as he feels that he showed up there for the sole purpose of getting a job done, same as the coins

[@ChicagoPaul2020]

i'm a human

[@christopherpeterson924]

i feel like chigurh is supposed to be evil in human form and his seemingly indestructible character represents the perpetual and everlasting evil in this world. sheriff bell on the other hand represents a long lost sense of naivety. he lives his life in reminiscence of what once was a personal utopia from his perspective, he doesn't represent good or evil in another sense, but rather middleground, realism.

[@logicmonkey1034]

Yes....You connect metals for a living. At least me being unemployed without any motives or desires bored in the fires of hell only to look around and nothing worth moving to so I sit in my flames of agony.... i'm at least a nobody.....a nobody is still human.... If the whole world is a prison...what does it matter if the guard sets you free? You don't leave the cell...you simply sit there looking at an open door that leads to the same place....I'm a human that has lost what it means to be human....I'm just a confused fuckup.....Though you sir.....are a fucking welder.....that's not human..

[@MrSilvUr]

There's the scene in the end with Ellis where Ellis tells him about their uncle who got shot down by eight men in his own home. Ending the story with, "What you got ain't nothing new; this country's hard on people. [...]" highlighting the fact that Bell's idealized perception of the past is a myth. It's not that things were once pleasant and civil and now it's not; it's that the world was always cold and harsh in the first place. We see this again if we look at Bell's dreams at the end of the movie, where he sees his father carrying fire through a snowey landscape. He sees his father's stoicism symbolically represented as him carrying fire through a cold, harsh landscape. In Bell's opening monologue, he talks about crime today being difficult to measure; that in order to do so, you have to say, "Okay. I'll be a part of this world." And as he is saying this, we are seeing Chigur get loaded into a police cruise. Chigur is an embodiment of the world. He has internalized its harsh, capricious rules. That's why it's so easy for him to navigate the world of the movie -- he is the world of the movie. That symbolism is so strong that Chigur might not have even been on the other side of the door when Bell opened it. Bell might have been imagining him there: He opens the door ready to have a showdown with a man -- a conflict he could understand, only to be greeted by an empty space. There is no man; there's just the world, and that's too big to fight.

[@crimsonfox87fluxule62]

Not if you have nuclear bombs.

[@crimsonfox87fluxule62]

But yes I agree with your own stoicism within the pedantic configuration you have above.

[@MrSilvUr]

@@crimsonfox87fluxule62 Sorry, what?

[@crimsonfox87fluxule62]

I was making a half-assed attempt at a continuation by joking about fighting the entire world.

[@crimsonfox87fluxule62]

Which can be done easily with nuclear bombs.

[@joeymart222]

Damn good vid sir. You pointed out the things i didn’t know were there, and i’ve watched it plenty of times, that windmill connection was one i missed, but you finally described the gas station conversation for me, i knew there was deeper meaning but i couldn’t put words to it, well done. 👍👍

[@srinirao2030]

Thanks for a wonderful review. I loved the movie but after listening to your review, I realized how much I had missed. Thanks.

[@Puppy_Puppington]

Isn’t the “old & not able to keep up” turbine a representation of the old man /Sheriff.....

[@quartzking3997]

That’s what I don’t get. At first I thought turbine no.1 must represent the sheriff as it is far away while the other two are in the foreground, in the same way that the sheriff is always following the trail of Moss and Chigurh. But on second thought turbine no.3, the old and broken one, could also represent the sheriff, with turbine no.1 representing Chigurh because he is so far removed, psychologically speaking, from everyone else in the story.

[@ElwoodBlues830]

Sheriff Bell is law and order. He represents stability, organization, security, society, reason and composure. Chigurh is chaos, (though he's organized chaos) representing only himself, and his insane psychopath world, enforcing his specific values and norms. He's uncontrollable, totally free. He's the predator who adapts to his environment but doesn't follow any rules of the society. He's fear, he's what we don't wanna see, he's the man you shouldn't meet, the man you wouldn't want to be. He's the darkness, an alive nightmare, who strikes anywhere. Chigurh is human failure, loneliness, violence. But he's also fascinating because he seems to be the Almighty.

[@EGoltz]

Elwood Blues yea we got. We also watched you tube idiot.

[@ZekeMan62]

Balian Exactly. And the darkness that Chigurh represents is growing now that all the traditional men that kept it at bay like the Sheriff are fading, partly from advancing age and partly from disgust at seeing their type demonized and watching good transform into evil and evil into good.

[@MCVessels]

Ezekiel Watters But Chigurgh, or someone or something like him, was always there...

[@ZekeMan62]

MCVessels My first sentence above was key. I said that the evil that Chigurh represented is growing because the traditional masculine men represented by the sheriff are fading. Of course the darkness was always there, but it was kept on the fringe and on the run by traditional men. Now that men like that are denying out and replacements kept at bay by a feminized politically correct culture, the evil that they kept down to size is growing and facing little opposition. This does not bode well for the future. The Sheriff saw this coming and was disturbed by it, feeling out gunned and troubled about the future so he retired.

[@MCVessels]

Ezekiel Watters I'm not sure it's as simple as that. Chigurh is acting as an unstoppable and perhaps unknowable force here, and he confounds everything that the characters throw at him. The forces of law and order, as represented by Sheriff Bell, can't defeat him - the sheriff never even gets to confront him, and although our sense of story tells us that an old lawman approaching retirement should either defeat the forces of darkness or die for what he believes in, he instead finds himself impotent and retires knowing that he failed. Carson Wells, for all his experience and violence and the self-assurance of a man in the prime of life, is destroyed by Chigurh the way you'd squash a cockroach. Llewelyn's cunning and instinct for survival cannot protect him. The only person who comes close to leaving a scratch on Chigurh is Carla - the least masculine, most compassionate character - by refusing to accept the meaningless rules he lays down. And that, too, is useless. We've each put rules in place to guard against the sense that catastrophe can strike at any time, and that makes us feel better. But Chigurh, when he appears, isn't so different from the car which speeds out of nowhere and hits him. We can decide that cars should not drive through red lights - but they do, and they crush us and then speed off. It seems to me that the malevolence which Chigurh stands for isn't evil in the traditional sense, but the forces of a blind and mechanistic universe: not fate, but simple cause and effect. And if our way of life is changing, it is because we are coming to recognise that we are not at the centre of the universe: the world will not make exceptions for any of us, any more than it will for a car or a coin. If I were to ascribe a cause to this I'd say it might be our growing movement away from the human system of religion and towards an ahuman system of science, or I might say it comes from an awareness of the horrors of the 20th century, of the various genocides and of atomic warfare. Compared to these things, political correctness is a really small potato - and if it leads to more Carlas and fewer Carsons, it might even help our chances slightly when Anton comes calling.

[@DarthAbyss316]

Wow! I love this analysis of this movie. Fantastic job! You’ve definitely earned a subscriber!

[@rayglassworks307]

Such a great channel and the this video is top notch. You deserve the sub count of most popular movie channels

[@RobertM55533]

Love this movie, I've watched it many times. But I think that there is a little bit of over-thinking here (not the first time for sure with movies that are deep and well crafted and subtle). What I really like about this review comes at the very end, where he describes Chigurh as not being a human character, but a type of force in the universe. I hadn't thought of his character in that way before. The film is dark, but it is brilliant.

[@brillopad1392]

Someone needs to inform this guy (gently) that there is really such a thing as over-analyzing a movie plot. Freud would have be pleased - after he woke up from laughing himself into a coma.

[@petextra6016]

extremely engaging discussion and analysis, thanks all, pleasure just reading all the inputs...

[@mrguermo1]

I don’t think Anton was actually in the hotel room when the sheriff goes in. It seems out of character that he wouldn’t have tried to kill him otherwise. In the book Anton was watching him from his car in the parking lot. Bell just barely missed him as always. Like with the car crash, Anton isn’t immune from fate, it’s just that the coin toss happens to land in his favor at those crucial moments.

[@alialmahdi4165]

I was nodding my head up and down throughout this who analysis, until the wind turbine comparison. I just really think Chigurh is a psychopath. He killed almost everyone he encountered with zero remorse. Such a convincing and ominous character that will always leave you wondering, that's such an important element to a masterpiece of a movie.

[@kidmack1121]

But I noticed that he didn't kill anyone he didn't "get the jump on" Face to face against a ready and equally armed target, he pussed out and ran. Too bad Carla Jean hadn't put her queta in her purse whenever she left her house, because when she caught him sitting in her bedroom, she could've made him "Coll et"

[@ashthomas5827]

One of my favourite parts of this movie was the part where Chigurh shoots at the crow as hes driving past it (so hilariously random) and also when hes at the shop and says to the older gentleman "you dont know what youre talking about do you?" Hahaha gold

[@Kyle-dj2gv]

Thanks for posting this video. I learned a lot that I didn't know.

[@Hollylivengood]

Gosh, I just thought the movie showed that no one is actually good if all you want is to get something. In the very begining the hunter had a choice, keep a bunch of money or leave it. He was doing fine without it, but he just had to have it. The only ones left standing were the sherrif and the criminal becaue they really didn't want anything but to do their job.

[@dominicraynes1569]

I always compared Anton Chigur to Michael Myers. An unstoppable force, and a total psychopath.

[@fireandbombs12]

But there's more to chigurh than just a crazy person.

[@dominicraynes1569]

That's true, but I meant just in the mysteriousness of the character. He doesn't have many lines in the movie, but he's one of the most interesting characters.

[@dominicraynes1569]

...on the other hand, there's more to Michael Myers too (just John Carpenters H1 & H2).

[@MikeSW]

He's more like a hurricane or tsunami.

[@urpgag2]

bubonic plague comes to mind.

[@Protester19]

very well made analysis!

[@kennycaligula3081]

Nice work. Great analysis. Subscribed.

[@godstomper]

Chigurh is Sheriff Bells shadow side , in the Jungian perspective of the shadow self, the side of you you tuck away in your subconscious. The side you dont show anyone and are afraid to see yourself.