This is one of those films where people focus on what they perceive to be the meaning of the film, then quickly become disappointed when they realize that said subject is simply a vector that carries the actual subject/message. The film follows Anton Chigurh, a deranged killer who, in my opinion, represents pure, unfiltered madness in the world, who symbolizes tragic randomness, how anything can happen at the flip of a coin. On a more humanistic level, Chigurh is simply an organized killer who relies on chance and a person's honesty as motivation for his killings. A perfect example of this is in the beginning of the film when Chigurh asks the man at the gas station to call heads or tails. Naturally, this confused the man, considering he didn't know what he was calling it for. After a few moments of hesitation, the man calls heads, and Chigurh takes his hand off the coin only to realize that the man had been saved.
The main character, Llewelyn Moss, comes in conflict with Chigurh after finding a briefcase from a body containing around two million, which was obviously incentive for a drug deal of some sort. The rest of the film is basically a game of cat and mouse, and a very well acted one. Ed Tom Bell, played by Tommy Lee Jones, is a sheriff who follows Chigurh's killings in an attempt to catch the bastard, but fails to do so. The end result is the death of Llewelyn, his mother-in-law, and the death of Llewelyn's wife, Carla. This is where most people become disappointed with the result of the film. The film stays away from the typical Hollywood plot--good guy(s) come in contact with a bad guy, a few action scenes later the bad guy is defeated. Chigurh represents pure evil and decay, so naturally, he's not going to kick the bucket. This is why I enjoyed this film. The movie told it how it is--brutal and honest. The bad guy won; he got the money, and killed everyone else who was involved, the exception being Ed.
Towards the end of the movie, after Chigurh kills Carla, Chigurh gets hit by another car at a 4-way interseciton. This is where most people said, "Yes, he's dead! Woot!" The camera then pans out, and we see Chigurh (pretty beat up at this point) leave the vehicle. Two kids on bikes who had been following his car earlier stop to help him. Ironically, earlier in the film Llewelyn had escaped a gun fight with Chigurh, and a group of boys asked him if he had been in a car accident. A clever little touch from the producers. Chigurh gives one of the boys a 100 dollar bill for his shirt, which he uses as a sling for his arm (forgot to mention, the bone in his arm was sticking through his skin). The camera then pans away, and we see Chigurh limping away from the crash.
As for the title of the movie, well, it can really be taken two ways:
1. This is No Country for Old Men.
or
2. There is No Country for Old Men.
Obviously Ed represents the 'Old Men' portion of the title. Earlier in the film, Ed speaks to a man in a wheelchair about crime in the state, and how it's becoming too much for a man of his age. The man then tells Ed a story of a man who was gunned down at his door. I think the point of this scene is that Crime doesn't change, people do. In other words, there is no country for old men, because like it or not, men get old, but crime doesn't. A more simple explanation for the title of the film--Chigurh is too much for Ed, so he retires.
There's still a lot I haven't mentioned--metaphors, symbols, etc--that truly make this film special, but for those of you who haven't seen it (why did you read this?), I suggest you do. Just thought I'd share my thoughts and theories. I wasn't a fan of Fargo, but I'm glad I decided to see this film. It's an interesting film with excellent acting, and I hope it wins all of the nominations its been getting.
Log in to comment