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Upon revisiting "No Country for Old Men" more recently, a few thoughts stuck in my mind — among them, Javier Bardem"s haircut as the menacingly stoic hitman Anton Chigurh is still a perfect nightmare, the movie"s handling of its Mexican supporting characters has only grown more uncomfortable over the years (I think everyone"s more aware now of the Coens" poor track record when it comes khổng lồ portraying anyone who isn"t strictly a trắng U.S. Citizen), and the film remains a masterfully crafted, well-acted work of suspenseful storytelling ... But is it really saying anything that profound or just waxing nihilistic, as McCarthy especially is often accused of doing?
First things first, though: let"s take a look at the movie"s actual plot.
The 1980-set "No Country for Old Men" follows Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a Texan welder who goes on the run after stumbling upon và stealing $2 million from a drug khuyến mãi gone wrong. A proficient survivalist and Vietnam War veteran, Llewelyn finds himself hunted by Chigurh, a twisted killer-for-hire who wields a captive bolt pistol and occasionally gives his targets a chance to lớn live if they can successfully call a coin toss. What"s more, the pair are pursued by Texan Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a world-weary, aging lawman who seems all-but resigned to always being one step behind his quarries.
In keeping with McCarthy & the Coens" track record of subverting genre tropes, Llewelyn is unexpectedly killed by a different group of criminals who"ve been chasing him before he & Chigurh can have their final showdown. Chigurh then manages to recover the cash and tracks down Llewelyn"s wife, Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald), having sworn lớn kill her if Llewelyn didn"t surrender himself.
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This is where "No Country for Old Men" deviates from its source material. In the novel, Chigurh offers the heartbroken, terrified Carla Jean his coin toss challenge, which she eventually accepts (and fails). However, in the movie, a quietly scared yet resolute Carla Jean refuses lớn play his sick game and, when he demands she "Call it," retorts that he can blame chance or fate all he wants: it"s Chigurh who will decide whether she lives or dies.
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). Yet, Carla Jean"s reaction khổng lồ Chigurh"s bleak philosophical outlook in the film speaks lớn a greater idea: that everyone who lives long enough will one day grow old and feel lượt thích the world is spinning out of control (even if it isn"t). & while we can"t choose the hand of cards that life giao dịch us, we can choose how to play the hand we"re dealt while being aware of the privileges we enjoy that others don"t.
This is also why Bell fully emerges as the story"s true protagonist after Llewelyn"s death in the Coens" "No County for Old Men." By that point, Bell (who"s in his late 50s) has spent most of the film talking about how overwhelmed he is by all the violence in the world — with Llewelyn"s death and Chigurh"s escape being the last straw that finally convinces him it"s time to retire. All the same, it"s Bell who could really stand to lớn learn the lesson imparted by Carla Jean"s confrontation with Chigurh. Bell"s uncle Ellis even drives this point trang chủ during his conversation with his nephew towards the over of the movie, telling him:
"What you got ain"t nothin" new. This country"s hard on people. You can"t stop what"s coming. It ain"t all waiting on you. That"s vanity."
The Coens" "No Country for Old Men" is quite faithful khổng lồ McCarthy"s novel. Sure, it removes some backstory details and a minor subplot involving a runaway teenager, but beyond that, the broader strokes are kept intact. That being said, Carla Jean"s tweaked fate in the movie does a better job of driving trang chủ the message that, yes, we bởi have a say in how we react khổng lồ the way life treats us. It similarly reframes the car accident Chigurh gets into after killing her in both the novel & film, with the latter suggesting it was less an ironic twist of fate & more a direct result of Chigurh being distracted by Carla Jean"s last act of defiance. (Also, not wearing his seatbelt — buckle up out there, kids!)
To be fair, because McCarthy"s "No Country for Old Men" includes Bell"s internal ruminations at the start of every chapter, it"s clearer earlier in the novel than in the movie that Bell is the story"s real protagonist, not Llewelyn. Still, I prefer how the film ends with Bell telling his wife about the recent dreams he had involving his father, including one where he saw his dad ride ahead of him on horseback through a snowy mountain pass, knowing he would be waiting when Bell caught up. The last shot then shows him looking silently frightened but at least determined khổng lồ face his mortality head-on. By McCarthy và the Coens" standards, that"s a positively cheery conclusion.
