What Makes Anton Chigurh The Perfect Antagonist | No Country For Old Men | Character Analysis

[@gloomfiend]

For the Coin Toss scene, my interpretation is that he was repulsed by the shopkeeper's inability to make reasonable life decisions and general lack of ambition, so the only way to redeem him was to force him to make one last good decision for his life to prove that he is capable of that, or die. When the coin revealed head, he wasn't disappointed, that he couldn't kill him, neither was he relieved, but instead was satisfied with the shopkeeper, like a teacher whose struggling student finally got a good result. I think that's what he's about, someone utterly committed to his craft, who takes pride (and pleasure) in punishing people wasting their life with bad decision's and putting them down like animals, which, in his point of view, they are. Even if the bad decision only was to cross his way at the wrong time. So that would put him more on the existential spectrum which you described. I'm sure there are probably more layers to it, but that's the best i came up with

[@and-cut]

Very well put and that's a solid insight.

[@gloomfiend]

@@and-cut so was your video. You deserve more subs bro, hopefully the algorithm gods will be smiling upon you

[@and-cut]

Thank you so much

[@YudaHnK]

I came here

[@bradh3484]

I disagree. The shopkeeper said, “I seen you had Dallas plates”. This made him a threat, and is why Anton confronted him.

[@blahajwatermelon1579]

Well, gas station kill was made because the guy guessed where he came from, it was calculated, but still random.

[@Sohave]

8:36 There is a discernable reason to kill the gas station clerk, that he payed notice to Anton and the license plates of the car he was driving. Anton was evidently annoyed by the clerks small talking interest in him, as he sarcastically remarked by addressing the stranger "Friendo" but he was not certain if he would be enough of a liability that Anton could justify killing him according to his own world view.

[@SuperMickyChow]

Just a quick observation - i dont believe Chigurh would ever use his boots to kill someone, as he is very careful to avoid getting any blood on them when he kills people, even to the point of taking them off if he feels it's necessary. When he leaves the house after killing Carla Jean, he checks the soles of his boots to make sure there's no blood on them. This, paradoxically, actually humanises him, showing that there is something he actually cares about, even if it is just his boots.

[@and-cut]

That's a good observation. Thanks for pointing it out.

[@defiante1]

One of the themes is that the whole idea of this new wave of violence is a myth. The story they tell about the old days where a group of criminals shot a guy in the stomach and let him die slow is meant to point out that old men always feel like the world left them behind and has changed radically. When in reality... it hasn't, its always been a dark place with terrible things happening. Its why Anton gets away, there will always be evil in the world.

[@neilburnett1016]

He’s the Terminator made flesh and blood 😳

[@tomrojas6459]

Inexorable. He was like a machine with whom discussion or argument was pointless. Kind of a tactical and strategic ‘Terminator’… A compelling tool for and against villainous elements…

[@MrAveros]

he represents the hidden side of our fears... he is our fear of the surprise on the road that we hope will not happen...he is our fear that our happiness will turn into a horrific tragedy... he is that disturbing nightmare that weighs on our chests. tells us not to try to escape, I am coming to kidnap your hopes and happiness... So that you know that it is just a big illusion... And I am the horrific truth that awaits you.

[@TheHairlessGibbon]

A professional that distances himself from the kill by simply focusing on the task he has been employed for or him being a tool of fate. All that may imped him are considered players in this game and should already appreciate that their involvement is a choice they have made to forfeit their life.He merely brings this about for them. This distances him from the kill as it was their choice to play the game. The subsequent deaths as a result of pursuing his task are considered mere hurdles between him and his task. This distancing is observed in the moments he sort fate's decision by a coin toss so he would merely be an instrument of fate in taking their life.

[@and-cut]

Whoaaa.. this is a hyperfocussed perspective. Well put.

[@TheHairlessGibbon]

@@and-cut Thank You

[@briananthonynelson]

Certainly both! The scene with woody Allen should have had more time "you don't have to do this" epic. The coin toss next important

[@IrishTechnicalThinker]

Call it. 👍

[@metricdeep8856]

Nice.

[@patriotcrusader359]

I wish to make comment...but I'm afraid Anton just came in through the backdoor.. I have to get outta here..... .....tsug !!! 💀💀💀💀💀

[@nortn7093]

Chigurh actually let the gas station clerk live because he correctly guessed heads on the coin toss. If he had guessed tales, Chigurh would have killed him. The randomness was the whole point. The clerk "won" while another character in the story would not be so lucky.

[@patriotcrusader359]

I'd never seen how he killed the farmer after Anton ordered him to remove those chickens 😳😳😳

[@natet5959]

Yes, Anton is a monster, but why? Just a hint of a backstory would be nice. Maybe something visual that references a stint in the military. Anything is better than nothing. Otherwise, it's a brilliant movie.

[@Tubes12AX7k]

People naturally want to hear the answer, a logical explanation for Anton's behavior (i.e. "why"). Leaving that an unsolved mystery makes the movie even more disconcerting... as intended.

[@mtp4430]

He looks like a young Howard Kaylan with that haircut.

[@ai6894]

Psychopathy. Coin-tossing. Anton is like Harvey Dent who takes matters into such shaky hands, Two-Face blushes. The "Dutch boy" haircut. His oddball, out-of-line-but-he's-right philosophy. Almost makes him seem unlikely as a law breaker. Who never had the restraint and temperament to be a law maker. So, he chose life taker to even it out.

[@KidFresh71]

Good analysis; you might want to check your pronunciation of "epitome." It's EEE-PIT-O-ME. Not EPI-TOME

[@secularguildportal]

He's a Sadist.

[@amosnaftali2495]

He's from the USSR most likely Armenia or Georgia....

[@simonsmith-jg6wl]

If the rule bought you to this then what use was the rule

[@minormunitions]

I always felt he was Italian

[@yourneighbor2567]

I was thinking more like he was a Spaniard.

[@Punicia]

Blue eyes with dark hair suggests southern European. But he’s supposed to be from Mars. A total alien. That’s what makes him so creepy

[@monochrome366]

This video is very similar to the viles' eyes video just saying

[@and-cut]

There's only one movie on this character. All of us are bound to do the same, don't you think?

[@stephenlawrence2589]

Dis-Heveled :D

[@donpeever8131]

Bullshit it's fiction 😂

[@bradh3484]

I strongly disagree with the interpretation that Anton Chigurh was a psychopathic hitman motivated only by his own bizarre sense of morality. Everything he does has a clear and simple purpose if you accept that he wasn’t just a hitman hired to track down the money. He was already in Texas, near the area where the transaction was to take place before it happened. Why? It was his deal. He was tracking down his own money.

[@and-cut]

You're right. This is my interpretation. But thats the thing. The character is so eccentric, nobody can pin point exactly what he stood for. It's open to interpretation afterall.

[@wet-read]

I've never heard this before. It makes no sense. What were the people who took him to the shootout scene at night doing, then? If they were affiliated with Chigurh, why did he kill them? If it was his deal to begin with, why wasn't he at the scene when it went down? If he WAS at the scene and left, why would he leave the money there?

[@yourneighbor2567]

​@Doog55 not only that, but he made it very clear that he was working for someone when he asked the banker, "who sent the Mexicans" ? And "that's not right, you only use one tool for the job." Or something like that. He was definitely hired by someone to retrieve that money.

[@gabejaramillo2848]

If you'd all really like to know, i suggest you read the book! there's a lot more insight into his character and more actual dialog from him as well.

[@bradh3484]

@@gabejaramillo2848 there’s a book?

[@thenegativoneify]

Was this voiced by ai or something...your pronunciation is so weird

[@and-cut]

Nope. A VO artist. KZbin doesn't encourage AI voice overs.

[@justiceforall6412]

I'm of the opinon the Chigurh character is the same as Judge Holden in Blood Meridian. He represents the devil. Our own desire for violence and greed.