NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN Explained: Why Chigurh Doesn't Exist 

Check out our full breakdown of the movie here - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P4Cu30YhScM.html

If you pay close attention to when Sherriff Bell returns to the motel room where Llewellyn was gunned down, he ducked under the crime scene tape to find the lock of the door blown out. The vent to the air duct is on the floor with a coin. Then he sits on the bed, you see that the shadow of the crime scene tape is not there anymore. The shadow of the crime scene tape was there when the Sherriff walked to the bathroom. Then suddenly the shadow of the crime scene tape is gone.... Meaning Chigurh was there, and Sherriff Bell narrowly avoided encountering Anton.

The motel room was the most confusing to me. I also thought it was the sheriff imagining things OR that things were happening at different times. But it makes WAY more sense that Chigur was in the other room. He blew out the door where Moss was staying at, used a coin to undue the vent. Then he saw that the money was pushed all the way nearer to the other room. So he went to the next door room, got the money and was almost caught by Sheriff Bell. The Sheriff just lacked the insight to check the other room. Otherwise there would have been a shootout.

“They never talked to each other” - what? They had a very detailed conversation over the phone

If you read the book you know that Chigurh does in fact exist.

*I feel like Chigurh* is like The Joker in the “A Serious House” comic book : He’s committed himself so fully to an ideology - that it leaves no room for a personality - he’s just a vessel for a belief.

I was watching an interview with Javier after this movie came out and of course his hairstyle came up. He said people would cross the street when they noticed him, they were scared and he was happy to get a proper haircut when filming was done 😂 Edit- great movie btw

Moss and Chigurh had a shootout though. And Woody Harrelson's character met both Moss and Chigurh and had conversations mentioning both characters.

Javier Bardem is phenomenal!

He ain't real ?? Well I guess the cop in the beginning just strangled himself.😂

The fact this beat out There Will Be Blood for best picture tells you how good this film is.

You Got it mostly right, however he didn't kill the manager of the park because the toilet flush, it was because she had a set of rules that she would not break.

There are two doors that are roped off, he was in the room next door. Instead of a coin flip it was a door

Chigurh did speak to Moss. They spoke over the phone. That’s when Chigurh offered to spare Moss’s wife if he surrendered, and he declined. That’s why he showed up at the end to kill Carla Jean, because he had given Moss his word that he would.

I don’t think that Chigurh is not real but I also came to the conclusion that his character represents death and you can’t avoid it no matter what, each instance of someone being killed is a representation of the inevitability of death and how it’s all up to chance and fate. You could almost pretend each person never saw Chigurh, they just died to some type of natural cause but the interaction we see on film is what it would be like to meet death in the flesh.

if u listen to the commentary, the coens say they purposely made Chigur and Moss that way so they are two sides of the same coin flip, get it. i guess not.

At the very beginning of the video he says Chigurh and Moss don’t interact, yet, in both the movie and the book they get into a shootout with each other, injuring each other, and speak to each other on the phone… Not to mention much of what’s known of Chigurh comes from what is said by Carson Wells, who knew that Chigurh was a very real man who didn’t quite have a sense of humor.

After watching your last video I did the same thing and ran across the same video. It's been digging into my brain. I'm glad I wasn't the only one and you gave credit. You're the freaking man Paul!

I see a lot of people misinterpreting the theory that Chigurh isn’t real. “But Moss talks to him, he’s obviously real or I guess the guy in the beginning just strangled himself.” They’re missing the point and when you realize the film is really about Bell, not Moss, then you see it. For Bell, it’s easier to adjust to the world if he thinks that it’s not a gang or a cartel that kills people but one singular entity. In this case, he imagines Chigurh. If he could only catch Chigurh, then the violence stops and it comforts him to think that. He can cope with the evil if it’s in one person(who he can stop) instead of the cartel or a gang (which he can’t). All the people in the film who died really did die and Moss talks to someone on the phone but it’s a member of the cartel.

Happy to be a new member! Love this theory. I’ve always thought of Chigurgh as a sort of mystical manifestation of evil and psychopathy, like the Judge in Blood Meridian, but it makes just as much sense if that’s all in Bell’s head too.

It makes sense as in this one the hero leaves the field before anything is resolved. This movie came out in the wake of series like Six Feet Under where the showrunner insisted some parts of a story can not be answered. The hero knows he can not answer them. He states his belief and just leaves the field for another to tend. The real world is like this.

In the shop clerk scene, hanging across the window is a row of spare fan belts looking very much like a noose around the clerks neck.😮

5:40 - I always thought this was reinforcing the idea that Bell is falling behind in his old age, and the title of the book/film. He's a minute late to Moss's murder, he misses Chigurh by the same.

Don’t forget Ed Tom at the end of the film telling his wife about two dreams he had. He specifically calls out that both has his dad in it and that it’s peculiar because he’s older than his Dad ever was by 20 years, so his Dad in fact looked younger than him. The first dream was about his dad giving him in those dreams money in town and he thinks he lost it (major plot of the film). The second dream was about his dad going on ahead on horseback to make a campfire (signifying that he’s died and wants to shine a light so Ed Tom) could find him when he dies. The piece about Anton waiting behind the door and then not being there could also be deceptive. When the camera starts panning into the door it starts from 2x doors back and it looks like the lock was blown from the neighbouring door. So a real Anton could have been there mimicking the shenanigans at the motel with multiple rooms next door to each other. Awesome movie.

Mate...I LOVE THIS!!! great analysis.

I always thought that the scene with the sheriff opening the door while the movie make us think that Chigurh is on the other side was more of a reference to a coin toss like the sheriff has this feeling that the killer returned to the scene and he is either in the other side of that door or he isn’t and he is dreading finding out that’s why he hesitates and as the tension rises the coin is tossed we find out that he is actually not there

How was Moss injured? He was somehow on both sides of the door, and shot himself a door knob in the ribs for fun right? That makes so much sense. Wow.

What-Is-Anti-Logic is one of the best movie critics..i love his theories❤❤❤❤❤

Terrible take. When you get older, you’ll understand it more. He is definitely real.

Interesting theory bro, thanks for the cool lil viddy.

I've legit just been watching these movies as you release these. It's nice to have someone picking the movies i watch. Thanks Paul

What’s so great about the book was all the characters came from a war and saw real violence and have to reckon with the “new violence” that is rising in the world. It’s brilliant.

Anti-Logic is an awesome guy. Glad to see you picking up on some of his stuff!

Would love to see you do a break down of True Romance!

Man Anton really was the best. God bless him and the actor who brought him to life. Wild stuff.

People died . They had a gunfight . He gets shot , people are murdered . This just ridiculous . The variances in perspective are the mid games that are played on people from their own perspective

The “Chigurh and Moss are the same person” theory can be easily debunked by the fact that despite what this person says, they interact in both the book and the movie. They get into a shootout with each other, injuring each other, and speak to each other on the phone. Not to mention the fact that Chigurh is still alive after Moss’s death and goes on to kill his widow after she’s already aware of her husbands death as well. The theory essentially becomes “Bell imagines this whole thing” which is just grasping at straws and you could hypothesize some kind of theory like that for every novel or film despite there being no evidence. The story is deep enough. You don’t need to try to see things that aren’t there to be seen to make it seem deeper.

Theory time intros are getting more and more interesting, I love it

next episode: thanos is not real

Absolutely brilliant Theory Time my friend 👏🏾 👏🏾👏🏾

I have sciatica right now and the recovery is literally a pain in the ass but it's coming along. Best wishes on your recovery 🤞

Yeah, try telling that to Carson Wells.

Bell was told of a bullet wound with no bullet, that’s why he was thinking of the bolt gun, he’s a detective and he was putting 2 & 2 together but couldn’t fully articulate his thought, It didn’t mean Chigurh wasn’t real. He is the personification of death tho, like Michael Myers

Yesterday I saw this movie for free here on YT. Now I got this, nice sync!

This reminds me of people saying o dogg and Kane are the same person. If you cut out a few scenes it makes sense.

I wonder if the similarity between the name "Chigurh" and the insect "chigger" or "jigger" was intentional. They're actually two different insects, but are so often confused that they're basically interchangeable. Jiggers are those parasitic worm-like things that burrow into and live under the skin of their host. I think this connection works; Chigurh, a psycopath, really is something like a civilizational parasite. Goodness creates a space in which evil can thrive - a blind spot where evil can lurk. Once we become so detached from our antecedents that we forget about man's intrinsic love of violence, we become unable to comprehend Chigurh, and consequently unable to stop him. He's imbedded in our society like a transponder in a stack of bills. Like a repressed shadow within a psyche.

I totally believe this theory. When I watched it I said how is this guy everywhere. It would seem that it's not one guy but the cartel and the old sheriff is trying to make sense of it. To put all of the cartel's actions on one person.

Thank you Paul for breaking down this movie! I just watched the previous video about this movie and I'm watching this one. It has reignited my interest in this movie. With a deeper understanding of what I had missed all those years ago. So later today I will be watching this movie with fresh eyes. Keep covering the classics my friend!

This is one of the takes on Chigurh I’ve ever seen.

Exactly. Also, Llewelyn probably killed the cartel members, during the drug deal, in actuality. He then took the bag of money, with the tracker, which was the "McGuffin". Carsen Wells didn't actually exist either. These were all just characters in the mind of Tommy Lee Jones, to explain the violent actions of the actual cartel members, allowing him to cope with the entire situation. Any character that didn't actually interact with Tommy Lee Jones, was probably just a character in his story.

She wasn't saved by a toilet flush. She saved herself by being principled. That's why Anton let her live.

I don't know for sure what McCarthy's intentions are, but you can make a pretty good case that the Judge and the Kid in Blood Meridian are the same guy as well.

creator is on the fent

Weirdest bit for me in this movie was that there is no soundtrack at all, but on Moss's hat there are musical staff and notes all around it. I'm still not sure what this is representing, if anything at all, but seems to have been purposefully done.

I can imagine Llewelyn in his fugue state going to the rental park office because he forgot who he was. The lady there be like,"We don't give no information!"

I chuckled when I saw the title, but I watched it anyway. In a totally unrelated issue, has anybody else read BLOOD MERIDIAN?

I really like this theory. Makes everything make more sense. Side-ish note. I heard on the Small Beans videos about the Coen (?) Brothers that their view of the world is sort what you mentioned. They view that, I hope I'm paraphrasing correctly, life is just random. Things happen and then it's over. That's something they put into all their movies. Random stuff happens and in the end nothing really changes. You can see it in the Big Lebowsky, Hail Cesar, here, Burn Before Reading, and so on. Lots of stuff happens but in the end nothing really happens.

This seems like a stretch. There are clues, or Anton "calling cards." that Bell discovers during the movie that only Anton would leave. The bolt gun was 100% real- the first deputy who is killed by Anton first tells Bell about him having "an oxygen tank for emphysema or somethin," no bullet or exit wound was found in the head of the highway victim, locks were punched out at Llewelyn's trailer and the hotel scenes visited by Bell, etc. And honestly....who, other than Anton, would have poured themselves a glass of milk after breaking into Llewelyn's trailer??

I just completed a personal edit on this film and was perplexed by the ambiguity of the symbolism. It's definitely there, but often very subtle or misplaced. The average viewer may never enjoy the movie without additional deep thought on the story and structure. Very good film

I feel like I should watch this

Just a random guy who caught your random review of a movie I love (a thinking movie) - BTW 10 out of 10 IMO per your analysis of this movie. I was going to call you out on "Suger" in the concept that his is the Angel of Death, perfect and all knowing, going Fate's (God's) work - but i had patients - so forced myself to hold off from commenting until your video concluded. Glad i did (your 47 minute mark confirmed my view on "Suger"). He thought he was Fate's instrument of will, but he was just a killer justifing his will as Fates instead. There was no need for him to shot at the crow - if he were objective per Fate - but he shot at it because of his nature, to kill - not Fate's nature. So that scene showed "Suger's" character as a killer and hypocrite. As for the Cat, Cat's scamper ("stranger danger") - I love cats, my best buddy is a cat, and she will scamper the second a stranger shows up - so "Suger" did not spare the cat out of some "code" - the cat just got the fk out of there then "Suger" killed his master. 7th Seal reference - WOW, never noticed it - i have both movies on Bluray - but ya "Suger" is in affect the Angel of Death in 7th Seal (I'm sure the Coen's know this and made in so - Coen's movies are both excellent and smart - so ya! they made the link, you noticed it, and I never did until now! - so thank you Sir!) Moss - many think he was a good guy (he was good-ish). But when He died I did not cry. He had 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! chances (you make much about Fate vs Freewill - and I think this movie is ALL about it - that there is BOTH) Moss FAILED 1st when he found the Mexican alive (ask yourself what would you do? - Me? I'd ignore the money and call the police (Moss was in Nam - he would know a "gut shot" was only lethal if you don't get medics - well what did Moss do???????????????? (unlike ME (and I suspect YOU) - we would ignore the money and called the police to save the mexican's life - a moral test (which 95 precent of us would PASS)). Moss does not PAss that test, instead he ruminates for 8 hours - after taking the money - then FINALLY DOES THE RIGHT THING - after medically the guy would have died (and the other side shot him again through the window to make sure he was dead) - So ya Moss did the right thing (actually he didn't - the right thing would have been to call the police right then!) LATER (too little too late). So from that point onward, he freewill was forfitted to Fate. BUT BUT BUT Fate gave Moss a SECOND CHANCE!!!!!!!!!! to do right!!!!!!!!! via the telephone conversation with "Suger" - and instead of "manning up and affirming Super was the professional - i.e. forfiting his own life to safe his Wifes, he Ego ups (chooses his own ego over humility in acknowledging him being over matched) and forfeits both his own life and his wife's life. So no I was not broken up over his death - he was overmatched, and his ego refused to accept this (unlike Bell - who was more moral, I think if Bell was the one seeing the Mexican he would have called the cops right then and there - to save the mex's life over the money) Bell also had the WISDOM and HUMILITY (thanks to his Uncle (Northern Exposure TV guy) who was pure Wisdom and talked sense into Bell at the end (Bell was mostly there already) to know he was over matched and simply walked away before he ended up dead like Moss. BTW slight dissagrement on Suger in one particular. Suger had the same greed as Moss and why he tracked him, for the money. You stated "Suger" did not end up with the money, I always thought he did. Can we clarify this particular? thanks for review of such an excellent movie (Coen's 3 best) Fargo is their best, Blood Simple (seems utterly forgotten today - and thier 1st film - is their 2nd best), Barton Fink is 4th best and also forgotten for some reason. thanks again Sir - fully thought out and apt review of this movie - damn I'm impressed. Now I have to see what other movies you've analysised!

Hollywood needs the old-school auteurs like the Coen brothers more than ever

To this day, I never understood why that lady survived meeting Chigurh, I never heard the toilet flush.

He has to exist: when he goes and kills Milton Waddams, Milton clearly recognizes him, the guy in the truck asks Brolin for help, if Brolin was Anton, he would’ve recognized him as a cleaner and would have been scared instead of asking for help and talking about lobos And when he kills the girl at the end she does not recognize him and says she knew he was crazy as soon as she seen him sitting there

It's possible, I just thought that it was Bell's Imagination and it was his mind conjuring up Anton and it was his way of "facing the evil and also, the fear of losing his life to The Evil, which is Anton"... In a Way, Anton is kind of like a morally bound Michael Myers from Halloween in this movie. I think that your interpretation is very interesting and I also think that Anton, like MM in Halloween are like a Shadowy Shape of our fear of death in our subconscious mind and I also believe that the Coen brother's were possibly leaving that ending with Sheriff Bell open to our own interpretation of the scene. I personally don't think that he was physically In There (I think that the window was locked in the bathroom and Bell let's out a huge sigh of relief..., but, I Did go back and watched that scene again and you're right, the Shadow Is Gone... So, I guess that your interpretation of it can be true possibly, too. :) All In All, A Great Catch and Eye, Man... I never noticed that before... Again, it Really makes me think of the ending of Halloween again, when Loomis blows him over the balcony and he Was There... And Then... He's GONE... ☺️😊☺️😎😎😎😎😎😎😎🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🍷🍷🍷🍷🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Perhaps my favorite non-sci fi / fantasy movies of all time. Definitely in the Top 3. (There Will Be Blood / Unforgiven).

Something no one seems to want to address (or be aware of TO address) is the milk bottle. WHO drinks out of a random milk bottle that's been left out on the coffee table? It doesn't matter that it's still cold - what if the LAST person drank straight from the bottle? And what of preserving any potential forensic evidence sitting in/on that milk bottle? Yet Sheriff Ed Tom simply grabs the closest glass, pours, and starts sipping! I would NEVER! You can't know WHERE that milk bottle has been - or who's been at it, with their possible Hepatitis C etc.! I find it plausible that Anton Chigurh is the "shadow" of Ed Tom Bell - but WHO killed Carla Jean? She appears *familiar* with him; she seems to *recognize* him and know why he's there.

I took my socks off after work and drank milk on the couch today. I am Chigurh, too. We can all be Chigurh!

It would make sense for Anton not exist to the sheriff but luwelyn definitely was being chased by Anton his tangibility was the literal gate in front of heaven

I’ve always wondered if all this is a dream like he has been having and it’s him thinking hell “ what if something like this happens?” And the parts where he talks to his friend and wife is just him scared of the dreams deciding to retire.

He kills the account guy.

I still don’t understand the explanation for why Llewelyn brought water back to the drug dealer.

They spoke to each other over the phone

No, stop overthinking the story, Chigurh is far more powerful than someone’s imagination of the future they fear or can’t come to terms with. He is also a major plot piece and without him there is no story. You are taking away from the best parts of this film.

Chigurgh was absolutely a real character and existed and there’s no evidence to suggest otherwise. Glad I watched this video

I think Chighur is real. he's behind the hotel door. he leaves while Bell's in the bathroom. in his haste to leave he pulls down the crime tape. notice the tape shadows before and after.

Remember how Bell said he thought he would meet God and didn't? Well he did in Anton Chigurh

I dont know this movie very well, and I haven't seen it since I saw it in the theater, but one thing I noticed is that the two people that we have to assume weren't questioned - the heavyset lady and the gas station clerk - they both seemed to be older than Chigurh. So maybe that's why they were spared. Did he meet/talk/interact with anyone else who was older than him?

Great theory. All one has to do is watch the movie closely and can see Chigur is actually real. So its wrong, but very detailed video

Super fun theory, I don't really buy it but given that it's Cormac McCarthy I absolutely see where you're coming from. There are many people that theorize that the judge and the kid from blood meridian are the same person.

After DNA evaluation of a piece of clothing from the victim, it's pretty widely accepted that Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper. He fit the physical descriptions police had of The Ripper as well.

I did really like the comparison between No Country and “Good,Bad,Ugly”, I thought that was spot on. I do believe Chigurh is real though, There’s the dime and vent opened at the end of the movie suggesting Chigurh came to where Moss was killed, off camera, looked in the vent, and found the money. Hence why he has money to give the kid on the bike after his car accident. And he also had the interaction with Moss’s wife after her mom’s funeral, I don’t think the audience would have seen that if he was imaginary...

What-Is-Anti-Logic is one of the best movie critics.. His theories make u think really. Everyone should give it a try😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️

Chigurgh is the personification of the grim reaper.

Could it be that Chigurh was in the other room Lluwellen started to get two rooms

Fight club,american Psycho and this movie people will always make a breakdown video, all this movie from 2007 to 1999. Still have something that need to explained.

Bardem was so cold in this role that even the movie poster of his soulless and expressionless face put me off watching this movie for so long..

1st and last time watching. "Only good guy that lives" spoiler was a bit of a bummer. Haven't watched it yet. No biggie. I like the premise of the video

For some weird reason, I looked up the Colin Firth movie called "Trauma" and it looks like the character Charlotte in it might also not be real. Worth looking into, though the movie is rated pretty poorly. I thought it was interesting overall (though I watched it 15 years ago).

Why would a ghost be worried about getting blood on its boots?

So who was Lewellyn speaking with on the phone? Did he actually kill Carson? Who killed the executive? Who killed the wife? By thew way, was Lewellyn actually buried in the wife's mother's plot?

Nice review

Bell never says anything about a bolt gun to Carla Jean. Mentions a maul slitting the neck and the beef comes to. Pissed off pulls his gun. With all that thrashing it causes a glance shot and a ricochet shot that hits him in the shoulder. So no mention of a bolt gun.

Cool analysis

Sugar definitely exists.

Guys, to all you who will say: there were victims , there were blood etc... that is what shows us the movie. Its all in the sherriffs mind. He teils a Story with several brutal murders and connected them in his mind, creating the figure of Anton. Ed tom = Anton. He imagines all evil happening surround him be one man or simply said he is evil.

wait then how does Carson Wells discuss Chigurh with Moss if he isnt real? The sheriff didnt manifest that whole conversation did he? What would be the point of the gas station scene then? Chigurh just acted weird, it wasnt related to Moss. And also who tf killed Moss's wife and paid off the kids? It doesnt make sense. Even with a false narrator, that wouldnt make sense. They wouldnt spend time with tiny details of Chigurh if he was just a figment of Bells imagination, there would be more holes. Its clear Chigurh is real.

So who actually killed the people?

Wendigoon also put this theory forward years ago.

It's an interesting take. I wonder how Cormac would respond.