No Country for Old Men (spoiler alert)

I didn't have the opportunity to see the movie on the theaters last year. Major loss, I now realize. I bought the DVD last week and watched it last night... twice on a row!

I'm in love with this movie. The Cohen Brothers shot me with a pneumatic gun on the head with this one. Just incredible these two guys. I'm still in shock with the non dramatic, unlawful, Hollywood slap in the face, death of Llewelyn. My jaw dropped, literary. No kidding, it did. I was left looking at the screen in disbelief. I have never seen anything like this. And it was also when the title of the movie sank in my head... when I realized what this was all about; the sheriff and Chigurh, the old and the new. Screw the money.

I don't know about you, but Chigurh now ranks in my list of top villains ever in a movie screen. Agreed?

But... There's two things I couldn't understand on the movie. Anyone of you have an answer to this?

- The car crash scene. I'm divided between a final flick at Chigurh unstoppable nature - Him and what he represents is here to stay - and a more elaborate hint at the young generation as the two kids are left arguing over the money as he leaves. Or is it both?

- Tom Bell dream. I just can't understand it. Truthfully I bought the movie in UK (no Portuguese subtitles) and I have an hard time translating his deep Texan accent on that final part of the movie.

Would appreciate any thoughts on this. And... yes, I'm going to watch the movie again today. Been a while since I last did anything like it... funny, because one of those was also with another Cohen Brothers movie, Fargo.

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I don't know about you, but Chigurh now ranks in my list of top villains ever in a movie screen. Agreed?

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I loved the movie.. Bardem was awesome as Chigurh, but personally, I find other performances like Jack Nicholson in The Shining and Malcom McDowell in A Clockwork Orange to be far better than Bardem's.

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funny, because one of those was also with another Cohen Brothers movie, Fargo.

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Fargo was really nice, I've seen it twice, though not on the same day !

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- The car crash scene. I'm divided between a final flick at Chigurh unstoppable nature - Him and what he represents is here to stay - and a more elaborate hint at the young generation as the two kids are left arguing over the money as he leaves. Or is it both?

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I'm more inclined towards "Chigurh's unstoppable nature".

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Originally Posted by PING

I loved the movie.. Bardem was awesome as Chigurh, but personally, I find other performances like Jack Nicholson in The Shining and Malcom McDowell in A Clockwork Orange to be far better than Bardem's.

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Jack Nicholson yes, but not so sure about McDowell. Regardless, I still have at the top characters like Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West, the kid who played Damien in The Omen (creepiest kid ever!), Linda Blair in the Exorcist, Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs.

However, Bardem did go into this imaginary list of mine... somewhere in the top positions. I'm pretty sure his haircut is partially responsible. Not just the damn good acting.

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Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West, the kid who played Damien in The Omen (creepiest kid ever!), Linda Blair in the Exorcist, Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs.

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Somehow i did not find The Exorcist to be that scary.. maybe its just me :( Yes, Dr. Hannibal Lecter was awesome, how could i miss that !

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I'm pretty sure his haircut is partially responsible.

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IMDb says that his hairstyle was based on a 1879 brothel patron :)

From what I've been explained, the tom bell dream highlights how everyone that tom loves or is sworn to protect goes on while he is here to stay. Everyone from Llewelyn and his wife, his father, all passed while he still is living.

I loved the movie, after watching it I "tried" to go to sleep, but the mood it set, about the nature of Anton and the things he did were haunting. It was great. The only quarrel I had was with the abrupt ending. I'm all for movies that don't totally resolve, but most do so in a gradual way. I just didn't like it.

You should check out "There Will Be Blood". I think it is my fav of the two movies.

I agree indigo. That's pretty much my thoughts on his dream too. (I had a duh moment when I realized I could just turn the english subtitles on the dvd.)

I actually liked the ending. It would have been a mistake to have Chirgurh killed or arrested, in my opinion. It was a going back to a happy ending and everything this movie is not about. It is however, as I've read from somewhere else, a "there's no clean getaway". He will be hunted... we just don't know the outcome. It's irrelevant because two or more Chigurhs will appear before this one is stopped.

I don't think that's the case. Chigurh as the Cohen Brothers have said in an interview is an almost unrealistically brutal and unstoppable killer. He's crazy but he's incredibly smart and almost omnipotent. I think him getting away was a part of that. The movie shows you that aside from Chigurh, everyone is just a regular person. Even Llewelyn who was pretty a pretty intense fighter and set his mind on something, got killed in a pretty silly way. The most capable killer aside of Chigurh died, yet Chigurh lived. It kind of shows that sometimes bad guys win.

I caught another thing which is that no one has seen his face and lived. This is how he gets away with everything, no one alive has seen him, but those two kids. I don't think the kids will be dramatically affected by seeing Chigurh because they don't know what he does, but they will most likely be silenced later on because they saw him. Remember he offed Llewelyn's wife just to keep his word to Llewelyn that he would killer her. The guy's a special kind of insane, and those kids are barely close.

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Originally Posted by indigo0086

This is how he gets away with everything, no one alive has seen him

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Accountant: Are you going to kill me?
Chigurh: That depends. Do you see me?

Damn. This guys is so crazy, he's cool.

I love how Carla Jean didn't call the coin toss and he almost went nuts (as nuts as any nutcase can be). She's incredible, I was surprised to find out in real life the actor who plays her has a thick Scottish accent

It's the only part of the movie when he flinches. We could probably start over analyzing every of this character actions and reactions, however from previous movies, we do know the Cohen Brothers don't show anything if they don't have a reason to. And she's the only one in the whole movie that makes him stop, even if only for a second or two.

The deep singing accent... oh man. Along with the Australian outback, Western Texas accent are two of my favorites in the English Language.

As for There Will Be Blood, btw, I did see that one on the theaters. I couldn't miss Day-Lewis on the big screen. That guy is a giant as far as I'm concerned. Which reminds me of yet another great villain in Gangs of New York.

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Originally Posted by indigo0086

IRemember he offed Llewelyn's wife just to keep his word to Llewelyn that he would killer her.

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It never actually showed him killing her, he gave her a choice, which she refused to make, but it left the outcome of that confrontation unresolved. Any outcome is plausable.

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Originally Posted by abachler

It never actually showed him killing her, he gave her a choice, which she refused to make, but it left the outcome of that confrontation unresolved. Any outcome is plausable.

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He checked his shoes on the way out of the house.

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Originally Posted by Indigo2523523

I caught another thing which is that no one has seen his face and lived. This is how he gets away with everything, no one alive has seen him, but those two kids. I don't think the kids will be dramatically affected by seeing Chigurh because they don't know what he does, but they will most likely be silenced later on because they saw him. Remember he offed Llewelyn's wife just to keep his word to Llewelyn that he would killer her. The guy's a special kind of insane, and those kids are barely close.

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There was that one guy in the shop who Chigurh flipped
a coin for. I don't remember Chigurh killing him.

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Originally Posted by abachler

It never actually showed him killing her, he gave her a choice, which she refused to make, but it left the outcome of that confrontation unresolved. Any outcome is plausable.

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It's possible he didn't kill her. But a few hints tell me he did. One, his description given by Carson Wells as being a man with principles and bent on things that go beyond money or drugs. He basically kills because that's his nature.

But the biggest hint, I reckon, is him looking at his shoes as he leaves the house.

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Originally Posted by abachler

It never actually showed him killing her, he gave her a choice, which she refused to make, but it left the outcome of that confrontation unresolved. Any outcome is plausable.

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Aside from him checking his shoes for blood, the cohen brothers apperantly shot a scene which was cut where before Chigurh left the house you see his feet on the bed as blood runs across the floor. It's not difficult to assume he killed her, he has no compassion, he's insane, and Llewelyn and his wife made him angry.

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Originally Posted by ethic

There was that one guy in the shop who Chigurh flipped
a coin for. I don't remember Chigurh killing him.

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Because he was lucky. The only thing aperrantly that can save you from Chigurh is luck. That was the point of his coin flipping. That's why he was angry when Carla Jean said, "A coin's got nothing to do with it". It kind of challenged his belief and showed that he was the one who eventually decided to pull the trigger, which Aperrantly shined a light on his insanity.

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Originally Posted by indigo0086

Aside from him checking his shoes for blood, the cohen brothers apperantly shot a scene which was cut where before Chigurh left the house you see his feet on the bed as blood runs across the floor. It's not difficult to assume he killed her, he has no compassion, he's insane, and Llewelyn and his wife made him angry.

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Thats funny, since it wasnt in the unrated version or in the extras, hence it is non-canonical. The story AS TOLD does not imply either outcome. Just because its nto difficult to assume doesn't make it a fact. Remind me to never let you be on a jury.