@@neithanm oof, right! 😂 I don't really know what the funk I was thinking but I should've said "compressed air" or whatever gas was in the cylinder (let's assume he's refilling it?? lol)
@@gensoumusic2145 When I read your comment I actually pictured him with an actual compressor, with its power cable and everything, and I thought shit, I missed something in the damn movie xD
Imagine seeing this movie 5 times in theaters cause you liked it so much, then everyone you talk to about the movie, respond with, “That movie was boring,” or “There has to be a sequel to explain what happened at the end,” or “I don’t see what the big deal is,” or “This is the kind of movie only white people could like.”
Copy that, Luke! NCFOM is almost - for me, anyway - a PERFECT Movie: 1.) Great story - about the thrill and danger of discovering something both fantastic and catastrophic, and the cat-and-mouse aspect as well. 2.) A brutal "Soft" Movie. - that's my term for a film that doesn't have hardly any music, and not too much dialogue (just contrast that with all the bombastic, popcorn crap) and 3.) the Props, Wardrobe and Hairstyles: you almost believe you were transported back to a dusty, gritty 1980 West Texas landscape. In Joel and Ethan We Trust!
you steal this comment from this video : ( *No* *Country* *for* *Old* *Men* : *Josh* *Brolin's* *Unauthorized* *Behind* *the* *Scenes* ) ua-cam.com/video/HGh4AD6BT24/v-deo.html
Cinema will remember that performance for decades. It was flawless, the movie even by Coen bros. standards. To 25 feature films in history; it will never be replaced, and has endless preview value, layers upon layers. So excited to hear what your genius brain makes of it.
Have you read the novel? Might help you with additional details. For example in the novel, Anton's shotgun silencer is made from a cut off torch gas tank -oxy, propane, acetylene, etc and Llewelyn says he's a welder of anything.
I thought, while watching this very enlightening video recap, that when Llewelyn saw the animals, he may have been seeing the drug deal going down. Taking it a step further maybe he knew they were people, but it symbolized that he had been aware of the drug deal and was stalking them like they were animals. This was a very well put together review of the movie.
The deer represents the group of drug dealers, and maybe when he sees the pit bull, it's actually just a very small flash forward to right after he comes across all of the dead bodies. The dog limping away and looking back at him is supposed to symbolize the "último hombre" trying to get away with the suitcase full of cash before collapsing by the tree.
@@drewlavay Or he didn't come across the dead bodies, he shot the "Deer" but really was shooting one of the drug dealers setting off the cascade of them all killing each other.
He also thinks Llewellyn could have or should have seen the shoot-out location. But just because a landscape seems flat doesn't mean it is. The shoot out obviously took place in a hollow (or a "holler"), which from a distance couldn't even be perceived, never mind its contents.
Lewellyn Moss, living in a trailer park where people don't ask too many questions, while also being a high end wetworker for the cartels? It's easy to write him off as a welder, who has to go at odd hours to do jobs with all sorts of weird equipment. Good cover. I buy this theory.
I think the whole story happens in the mind of the old sheriff (not in Llewelyn’ mind) because we’re watching it from his limited perspective. He’s the one who imagined Anton Chigurgh.
I love this because the way the old sheriff talks about Llewelyn, saying he kindly doubts he did this, means maybe they were war buddies or at least had both been in the war so had that affinity. So to refuse his war buddy as the one taking the money and killing to get away he mixed the Anton as some other guy on his tail? And he's trying to save and help a friend.
You mean like, it's the old sheriff's exaggerated imagine of what the bad guy did? That'd be pretty cool. Like, in reality it was just a normal criminal dude. But the way he imagine it, it's this terminator like monster.
@@karenamyx2205 I more meant he refused to see his friend capable of doing this so he imagined Anton doing it when it was Llewelyn the whole time; but your idea is cool too!
Another possibility in support your theory: The deer at the beginning He shoots one in the stomach and it runs off to die elsewhere They werent really deer Those were the cartel members The "deer" went to die under a tree
I'm english and know nothing of guns, but any scene with guns in it has UA-cam comments with people correcting gun types, sounds, range, etc. The only thing I feel could match in terms of depth of knowledge is drinking tea and the queen.
But Anton ends up pretty 'scathed'! Llewellyn gets him with the shotgun in his leg then he's T-boned by the station wagon, "Mister - you got a bone sticking outta your arm!" So, in the end, no one gets away with anything. None of us.
Absolutely love this theory, and I actually think it gives the last conversation he has with his wife more context. It always felt strange to me how much she seemed to almost recognise who it was as soon as he was sat there. I think the scene where the sherif looked at her with a sad look, wasn't because he was dead but because it was clear he was the one doing the killings. And she knew the second she saw him there he was crazy and guilty, but up until then she was still hoping he wasn't the man they said he was. The whole thing could honestly be from his wife's imagination and what she thought her husband was doing away. The sherif tells her he's a suspect and she creates anton as a way to not accept the reality of what he was doing. In the end he was the man they said he was and not the man she wanted him to be. all of that could be over analyzed and wrong though lol
Anton couldn't be real because of the scene he killed the cop along the highway. The cop was doing the trick draws and showing off his skills, but Anton easily killed him with a gun in a vertical shoulder holster. You could practice a life time with that holster and still get out drawn by Barnie Fife. It would have been plausible if the cop had missed, but it could be Hollywood plot armor.
@@kas1680 maybe as a way to disassociate himself from the action of killing, he thinks by giving them a 50/50 chance it's fate that kills them. Again just thought up on the spot haha
Giving a dying man a drink is a motif in western movies. Go watch the Unforgiven. Clint shoots a man in the belly but lets him get a drink even though he knows he is dying.
I think the issue is that nothing in the text of the film has anything to do with dual personalities. Or identity. The text of the film is pretty explicitly about fate and chance...
Yup, and anton is a real person in this film, but he’s more of a hyper personified grim reaper... so his outlandish branding of the big gun and cow piston and not being seen, thats all real.. it’s just dramatized to enhance the viewers sense of his foreboding nature.. he’s death itself. He’s the fate that is unstoppable. As far as many of the other things mentioned, i know he said he’s just doing it for entertainment but i don’t think any of these hold water. Anton is meant to be a real person in this movie, just a heavily personified one for effect. And they did one hell of a job. He mentioned about how anton knew how he was in the hotel etc... i mean.. as the viewer, those details aren’t really important, you almost don’t even consider it bc of who anton is... he’s an unstoppable hit man. That’s his job to hunt people down. I find those types of questions in movies a bit boring. When going to see a film we kind of agree to suspend belief a little bit depending on the film.. not everything has to be SO perfectly explained or 100% realistic. You would lose the exciting nature of most films and it would take you out of the film i think. The one thing i like about this movie is you almost forget you are watching a movie, it sucks you into the characters so much that you don’t need to question these very intricate and at times slightly unrealistic parts... again.. we suspend belief and give the director artistic room to entertain us. And in my opinion, i didn’t really question any of the things like.. how could anton go around with this big gun without being seen because the movie was done so well in making you realize that he was just this force of nature/fate that could do anything. But at the same time when he gets hit by the car and breaks his arm it balances it out showing you he is still human. Still one of my favorite movies
The way he looked when he strangled the deputy was disgusting. He got pleasure out of doing it. That’s what drives him. He may not even take much money other than expenses. He does it for the pleasure. He loves the hunt. The power. The mind messin. The act. And getting away. That’s what’s so bothersome about life and the film. Is the injustice of getting away with something. Justice is served to capitalist in office for dealing illegal drugs at others expense- ruined addicted lives and death. Justice for taking the money. Twisted justice in the bounty hunter making a living off other people being bad. And the injustice of death of innocents like deputy the driver the clerk the wife the wrong drug dealers mistake for the thieves but is justice too. That’s how I see it.
@@jasonborne5359 the car scene also shows fate because the light was red, the car that hit him ran the light. I agree with your breakdown too, and it's a splendid movie. He is just death personified.
Anton is also an "antonym" of Ed Tom Bell. Ed is the narrator whose mind won't accept that Llewelyn is a murderer so when he tells us the story, he splits those characters in two. Also, fwiw, the first shots we see of Llewelyn are him hunting on a desert plain. Appropriate since 'Llewelyn' is a welsh name that means "like a lion"
This is a stretch, but Llewellyn meaning "like a lion" actually might help. There's a few scenes related to cats/felines. Llewellyn watches the cat drink the milk in the hotel. Anton drinks milk in Llewellyn's home (like a cat). At the end of the movie, Ellis talks about his cats, saying that "some are outlaws" but also "some are HALF wild" (half, 50/50, coin toss, etc.). This might be a glimpse into Llewellyn's true nature, being Anton inside, a stalking predator much like a lion/cat. Idk just a thought.
The whole thesis of the film is Anton is real. Ed Tom must come to grips with the existence of men like Anton. He cannot stomach it. Thus its "no country for old men" Ed tom is mentally prepared for the common sort of criminal. Movitated by greed wrath envy passion etc. Normal human emotions. But there is a new kind of criminal that he cannot fathom. No one can fathom chigurgh not even his employers. To encounter him is not merely to touch death but to touch the very unknown. Its that shift in perspective that shakes those who have survived and those who witness his wake so much. One is left to wonder is this thing in our "decent" world or are we in the monsters world.
@Mat 11 yes but the actual point of the book and movie need to be stated for the brainlets in the audience who might think all this pulling from straw that's more convoluted than the intended meaning of the movie is somehow smart or profound.
His own father tells the sheriff that he's just getting old and that other sheriffs have gone through the same change in mind. It's not the world or the criminals who are changing. It's people like the Sheriff getting older and not being able to keep up.
Yes and no. The "no country for old men" philosophy is more general and summarized everything that makes a person feel as tho the world is changing too fast, and that they can't and don't want to adapt to the changes that are depreciating to a society's values.
1:53 "The dialogue is natural, and every character feels so well developed, even if their only on screen for one scene. But even in its perfection, I feel there's something off about it." Welcome, dear boy, to the Coen brothers!
@@ignatiusjackson235 I highly recommend him.. Have a read of Blood Meridian it's amazing, also The Border Trilogy.. Pretty much everything he has wrote I love but those books will suck you in to his writing. 📚😁
Really because literally everyone I know is under 30 and knows who Bo Jackson is and what Tecmo Bowl was, and how OP he was in the game, i don't think I've met someone who doesn't
Update: Anton, Mr and Mrs Moss and every character chasing that briefcase full of cash are ALL parts of Sheriff Bell's dream, just like Oz is all part of Dorothy's dream in Wizard of Oz. In the last moments of the story Mrs Bell asks him if he slept alright. That's the clue. It explains why Anton could disappear from a motel room or why it's never explained why Anton's arrested in the first scenes. A dream.
Perhaps a dream to cope with some unsolved case under similar circumstances year before hand. He's never been able to get the death of Luann out of his head.
Yeah, I hope the creator of this video reads the novel. I think that'll give them more depth for their analysis than just the movie. There's a *lot more* going on in the novel. (Also I just really like Cormac McCarthy's novels so I'll tell people to read them whenever I get a chance.)
True; but effectively they are. 9x19 SMG that has the magazine outside of the grip and a barrel shorter than usual. Your average person would confuse them and if made to equal build standards there wouldn’t be much difference at all. For cinematic purposes this is interchangeable; basically representing the same weapon but being used by two different sides of the same coin.
@@FreedomsLife1776 Nevertheless, if the script writer/McCarthy intended to suggest it was the same gun (and maybe the same person), he would have made it the SAME, not similar.
@@miblish5168 I hear ya and I agree. Just explaining why he would come to that conclusion. This theory has me fucked up hahah I’ve been doing the analysis myself while watching the movie and he is on to something.
I remember HATING the ending. It felt like we were robbed of any kind of resolution. Your interpretation of this film has me intrigued and now I actually want to see it again. Thank you!
@@guitarguru.3572 you are BUGGING. All of us beat Mike Tyson on that game eventually. If your boy chose THE RAIDERS??? There is no way he not getting 300 yards on you with Bo rushing the ball.....and that's on the low end.
*Me:* Do you have any idea how crazy you are? *AntiLogic Chigurh:* You mean the nature of this film theory, friendo? *Me:* I mean the nature of you. P.S.: _No Country for Old Men_ is horror? I totally agree. Anton using a cattle slaughterhouse gun to kill a guy while weirdly smiling & politely telling him to hold still, his conversation with the gas station owner is way creepy--he didn't murder the man, but it sure felt close to a killing (dude probably messed his pants big time), and he'll kill you wherever you are (office high rise, motel, hotel, house, police station, doesn't matter, he'll find you, and if you're lucky, he'll give you a chance with his quarter--or then again, not ("I won't tell you you can save yourself, because you can't").
I stumbled across your Fight Club video and discovered the rest of your channel from there. You've got a lot of really thought provoking ideas presented in an entertaining way, thanks for sharing!
I didn't think the water plotline implausible. In the moment he just wanted to get out of there, but with distance the man's plight (dying without water alone in the desert) started building and building in his mind.
rlly late, but Im pretty sure there's just a motif of people doing nice things ends up getting them killed throughout the entire movie, that's how I saw it.
I also get the sense that something about Chigurgh is off: he seems more of a personification rather than a person. However, the split personality idea is certainly a stretch. Your first bit of analysis is spot-on, but then it sort of goes off the rails. :) You are certainly creative though, and I love what you'll find when you see a great film 30+ times (Blade Runner and Fargo for me).
Maybe Chigurgh is how Ed imagines Llewellyn to be. Ed is an aging sherif find it hard to keep up his work, and is also embellishing the story to discourage new recruits from digging too deep without proper support, especially a big case that involve a total of 4 million deal. Something like that needs enough boots from at least two counties to handle.
Some think that a similar thing is going on with McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian. It's based on an autobiography called "My Confession" by Samuel Chamberlain, and there's clear evidence that all of the characters in that book were real apart from one: Judge Holden. The speculation is that Chamberlain invented Holden to cover up the fact that he and the other members of the Glanton Gang were the ones who actually committed the atrocities that were ascribed to Holden; it's one thing to admit to killing peaceful natives and the mexicans that you are meant to be protecting (because their scalps look like those of the natives that you're meant to be killing) but it's another thing entirely to admit to the r*pe, torture, and murder of children. So both Anton Chigurh and Judge Holden can be seen as 'devilish scapegoat' characters; they are the fictional actors of evil we blame for our own twisted decisions and actions.
Judge Holden is a vehicle to convey the dark aspect of our psyche, and consumes " the boy" in the end. Blood Meridian is a story about a guy who never had a chance, broken from boyhood. " All are fated to darkness below the votive lamps. Bears that dance, and bears that don't." ~Judge Holden
Yes! I just posted about this, citing it as being an unpopular theory. Lo and behold, I am not alone. There are so many clues that the judge is a figurative evil residing in the heart of the kid/the man. It's baffling that so many fans of the novel still interpret otherwise.
@@POPEASS1 That's the only source in which the Judge appears and why he was probably just an invention of Chamberlain's. Could you somehow provide a link or reference to the pdf of My Confession please? I looked but couldn't find one.
The fight club scene where Marla yells calls the cops and she and Tyler are in the hall way and she points to where her apartment is and the cop acknowledges her makes her a real character.
In the book, he was not just a Viet vet, he was a sniper. So field craft and thinking about how the enemy would act and react would be important to him.
I see more holes in this theory than in the movie. I’m willing to give the idea that Lewellyn and Anton are the same person, but none of the supporting evidence is strong enough to persuade me. About going back to give the drug dealer water: he didn’t do it because he and Anton are one and the same and needed a reason to go back out there. He didn’t purposely wait until dark just to fuck with the guy, either. He had no intentions of helping anybody, especially a drug dealer. He’s a good ol boy that would lay down his life for kin folk, but the drug dealer is a low life that wouldn’t think twice about putting a bullet in Lewellyn’s head so he says fuck it, you don’t get shit from me. But later, Llewelyn’s conscience gets the best of him. How you treat others is not a reflection of what they deserve, rather, it’s a reflection of ones education and morals. Llewellyn decides that he needs to go back with water to declare that he is a good person to himself.
He knows it's stupid, calls himself an idiot and fearing he'll "get his dumb ass shot", but he also felt it was the right thing to do. Wasn't a plan he had.
I'd like to offer my opinion on the 'death of Llewelyn,' in an attempt to make it fit into this train of thought. Maybe it's a psychological death rather than a literal one and it's meant to represent the death of what good is left. The motives and needs of Anton finally cross paths with the motives and needs of Llewelyn. Anton feels he needs to kill Carla Jean, Llewelyn wouldn't go along with it, so Anton kills him off as a personality.
The flaw in Llewellyn's character is actually the goodness in him. mccarthy's books are often about the incompatibility of goodness in our plain of existence. every character he's written that is the hero~ isn't particularly good, but there is goodness in them and that sets them apart from the world and also makes them less fit to survive therein what you say doesnt make sense is exactly what's center to the characters. just thought i'd give some answers to the questions you were askin :-)
@GazB absolutely agree. i hate atomization. compassion and altruism are necessary for survival, and anyone that says otherwise is just repeating a *misinterpretation* of darwinism propagated by capitalism. mccarthy dissects the viewpoints promulgated in the myth of the american west, that's why his worlds are so bleak and occupied mostly by men haha
it's not the book he's talking about, but the film, there is definitely mirroring going on, so it is a question of interpretation. Perhaps the Cohen bros. were thinking along the lines of what is being described here or maybe they had some other reason for doing it.
Mortal and Jamie are on to something - I think most fans of Cormac McCarthy (one of the greatest writers of his generation) would agree with both of them. Anton for me is “death” - a modern version of the grim reaper in human form - an unstoppable force of nature - like the Judge in “Blood Meridian” - another Cormac book with some similar themes. The Sheriff knows what he is and is powerless to stop him - time to retire. Llewelyn is the foil who comes close, but in the end can’t beat “death”.
Sheriff says at the beginning how much he doubts Llewellyn would have been involved. So maybe the Anton/Llewellyn cat-n-mouse game is just a creation in the sheriff's head?
I think all the similarities between the characters is to make the line between good and evil blurred. And us question the subtle differences and similarities of good and evil.
I was pretty convinced until I recalled the scene where Anton grilled the trailer park landlord about where Llewellyn was and she didn't cooperate. She would have known who he was. Maybe you chalk it up to he imagined it.
@Entity Water What? He’s imaging confronting Anton and avenging Moss, but in reality old time justice (the Sheriff) doesn’t work anymore. Anton isn’t really there, he’s hoping he might be or fearful of it. Instead, he’s faced with the disappointing reality that he won’t catch the man he’s hunting, and that Moss died for seemingly no reason.
Hey man I just found your channel because russian youtber 'ЧБУ' made a video with this theory. Damn wish you spoke russian so you both could discuss it on stream or something like that. Very interesting thoughts! Kudos to you!
The jug of water wasn’t to save the guy’s life. It was to make Moss feel better about himself. “Here. I brought water. I’m a good guy.” EDIT: Anton and Moss are together in the scene where they shoot at each other. Anton even shoots Moss... EDITagain: Moss asked where the last guy went because a shootout like that only happens when lots of money is on the line. If there is no “ultima hombre” then the money is in one of the trucks, free for the taking. Otherwise, Moss is a veteran with a scoped rifle on the wide open plains... And the last man standing is probably hurt, probably alone, and definitely carrying a lot of money that Moss can take. Moss senses easy payday.
I think it’s a great theory. As for those so stuck on the novel, “The Shining” comes to mind. Every iconic shot and element that makes Kubrick’s film adaptation great, does not appear in Stephen King’s novel. He bought the rights and completely reimagined it, and we are still discovering hidden themes and intentions, 40 years later, through the Kubrick archives. He even went to great lengths to place metaphors and symbolism into the film that he never explained to anyone, except for his wife. I think it’s an “Anti-Logic” argument to lean so hard on the novel, when the Coen brothers clearly enjoy The same exposition, layered symbolism, hidden themes, etcetera. They have stated many times just how influential Kubrick was on them. To be honest, I also think it’s completely against logic to believe that the Coen brothers would ever adapt a novel without putting their own twist on it. That wouldn’t be any fun. Cheers 🍻
Except the movie is almost exactly the same as the book in this adaptation except for omitting one scene that explains why Anton kills the people he is supposed to be working with
@@ajwall1 The book also goes into more detail before the shooting at the motel with the girl he meets there. But yes it's an amazing book for anyone that hasn't read it yet. I read the book first and was amazed at the level of detail and consistency between the film and book.
@@bigbri7519 Confirmation Bias is a logical fallacy, which states that someone is more likely to find and appreciate information that promotes their own ideas, while intentionally or unintentionally ignoring and down-playing information which contradicts or does not support their ideas.
I realized in the final scene when, the now retired sheriff tells his wife the story about his dreams it kinda dawned on me that Chigurh might not be real, he's just a story left to be told by the characters in the movie. When he gets into the accident at the end and the kids on the bike help him, he tells them to say he was already gone. I think he suppose to represent the tales/ stories of people are left with to tell. There's another scene with Chigurh and and the Sheriff where he goes back to the crime scene and looks for Anton but he not there but before he enters the shot shows Anton waiting behind in cover in darkness, but then idk because the sheriff then finds the coin on the ground that was used to retrieve the case, but then idk again either because when he visits ol'boy wife at the end she saws she doesn't have the money and I can't remember exactly but I don't think the language he used insinuaited that he had the money. SO idk maybe that's what the whole story is about the one tale of cat and mouse seen through the eyes of the characters in the movie. ( this is just a rambling lol )
Amere Mortal you realize, when you study literature, journalism, or anything like that, you’re trained to search for alternate meanings, metaphors, transfers of subject and hidden messages.
A movie could work on different levels and have alternate meanings. It simultaneously explores the themes of faith, fate, changing of times, nihilism and could be seen with the lens of theories which could bring whole new level of appreciation to the film.
Doesn't matter if the ideas are correct or not, its an insightful and creative thought experiment. With art, sometimes, its more important that anything else. Cheers for that mate.
I’ve always thought Chigurh was an ancient demon, an angel of death who has been casted down from Heaven and haunts the Texas plains, delivering his twisted gospel and violent misery to those he came across. There’s just something cosmic and monstrous about him every time he pops up on screen.
Besides all the killing (and other than Wells&Carla Jean - He is doing his job...in fact even Wells & C.J. he does due to his personal code), Chigurgh is the least greedy, lazy, emotional, irrational, characters in the story...I have read the book over 30 times, seen film almost 20...just a great story ALMOST flawlessly adapted by the 2 best filmmakers of the last 30 odd years. Chigurgh IS real, but I like to think that he's isn't exactly Human...One of McCarthy's Best characters - and that's saying a lot! The dude knows how to tell a story and I don't want him to ever not be a storyteller - but I always forget that we're MORTAL....phhhh. suxxxxx!
The reason why Joker and Fight Club can have the split personality stuff is because they establish that's what's going on. They don't do that in this movie, and that's not what's going on. And that body on the floor is obviously Llewellyn. Ed Tom knows Llewellyn but the other guy he's talking about green hair with doesn't so of course he's not gonna have a conversation about someone that guy doesn't know.
If they had gone with the description of Chigur from the novel ( non-descript, unremarkable other than an air of menace) this would lean even harder into your theory. As much as I love Bardim in this movie , he is way too distinctive. also: What do you think of the Fight Club interpretation of Ferris Bueller's Day Off?
Maybe I'm tripping but in the novel Chigurh had a fairly idiosyncratic appearance; dark skin and blue eyes and like ostrich skin boots and other weird Texas clothing shit, or something like that
@@Noahthelasercop read the book at the end, where they are talking to the kids that he bought the shirt from after the car accident. He is described as having blue eyes and tan skin, ut also described as average height, average build, unremarkable, but described as a man "that when he speaks, you'd better listen"
@@Neon_Ghost1 Simplest put: Ferris isn't real. Cameron is his real life and Ferris is the fantasy he projects. We see Ferris' parents (loving, doting, wrapped around his finger) but not Cameron ( cold, distant, dad even sounds borderline abusive). Everyone loves Ferris, no one mentions Cameron. Seriously no one outside of the group mentions Cameron. No one at all. If Ferris was his best friend Cameron would be popular (or at least well known). There are only two times in the movie where someone outside of the group even acknowledges Cameron or speaks to him directly. Both times (trying to blag their way into the fancy restaurant, and dropping off the Ferrari) are times of extreme anxiety for Cameron (that's when the "real" him comes out). This also explains why when they called the school to get Sloane out: why didn't it occur to Rooney the other guy on the phone could be Cameron? why when he was looking for Ferris he never tried to find Cameron, or even mention him in passing? There's more but that's the main thrust of it
I like the idea of this being a Fight Club-esque retelling but without the reveal. A bit like the Fountain in that regard. You're never explicitly told the physical connection between the three stories accept the Fountain is a bit more overt about it's fantastical elements.
There's no flaws in this movie. The only flaws are with The Coen brothers. They are sometimes a hit and miss with their movies. With this movie, without a doubt they produced a masterpiece
why doesn't the guy just use pay phone tip if he cares about the man in the truck? get him help immediately if he wanted him to live? it's a big flaw in logic. definitely a cat and mouse masterpiece--well saber tooth tiger and mouse anyway
@@porkfrog2785 Llewellyn bringing the water back to the scene actually SAVES him, because had he not gone back he would have sat in his trailer with the money which was bugged with a device that both the Mexicans and Anton had a tracker for. The only reason Anton and the Mexicans don't immediately find Llewellyn is because Llewellyn KNEW they had his truck VIN and went on the run. If he had just sat at home he woulda been toast. So the "rule" Llewellyn followed actually saved him. However, his rules end up killing him as well when he turns down the pool lady's offer for beer in her room, which would have let him spot the Mexicans from inside her room.
@@edwardw3345 I'm not disagreeing, just saying it's not logical and believable. Also, I think it's an assumption he sits tight with the money otherwise. The tracker had a very limited range, as the vid says, and may even be that way so it could be followed in a trailing vehicle on a double-cross. So with the range so limited no witnesses and no clue where to start? he'd have to be an idiot not to assume the baddies wouldn't be looking either way and not leave town soon-too soon for him to be found. We do know from the rest of the film, he's pretty sharp. I do not disagree with your analysis of how his move affects the plot--it's essential to the plot and to get things moving--it also creates a jaw-droppingly original swimming chase scene...I literally put down my weights and stopped my workout, utterly floored and enchanted
Anton is not real. He is however a genuine and persistent myth, like Greek drama. Symbolized in the twin faces of comedy and tragedy. Same character, but with two faces. Why Greek? Byzantium is a city of the ancient Greek empire. The title No Country for Old Men comes from a poem, Sailing for Byzantium, by William Butler Yeats. A poem about a spiritual journey. One of the most dramatic scenes in the film is two men, but their faces are never in the same frame at the same moment. The coin toss scene. We can all see both sides of a quarter, but not at the same time. The camera keeps showing us the faces of the players but not at the same time. AntiLogic's notion about Anton and Llewellyn being the same coin with two sides, the Greek faces of comedy and tragedy. I like it a lot.
@@biffbutowski2447 Anton being "unreal" does not mean that horrible evil doesn't surround his image or affect the minds of those who believe in him. Some of the greatest evil in human history has come to pass because people were obsessed with ghosts, devils and vampires.
Yes, but it just doesn't fit. Carsen said "I know him every which way." He talked TO Lewelyn ABOUT Anton." That theory completely negates that one scene.
@@bigbri7519 They are all characters in Sheriff Bell's dream, which ends moments before the film concludes. Just like Wizard of Oz. The film begins with Bell's narration, and it ends with him talking about dreams he has.
@@bigbri7519 He is talking to Lewelyn about a killer, that we perceive as Anton, but he has never seen him. It is entirely possible he is talking to Lewelyn about Lewelyn without knowing it. The assumptions McCarthy, and the Cohen bros give to the viewer/reader is what makes you believe these two things could not be congruent, but that does not mean they could not be. It has been a long time since I read the book, but I am tempted to do so again just to see if I could pick up anything to support this perspective within McCarthy's original writing. His books are all traumatic to read though, so I am reticent to try and read them anymore.
My whole interpretation of the movie/book have always been that it's just meant to be a parable about chance and shit luck. Chigurh is supposed to represent a symbol of people trying to put a face on cosmic injustice. They each tell him at some point "You know, you don't have to do this." And he does it anyway. He himself gets hit by a car, just out of shit luck. Why? Because God or whoever is in control could flip a coin and decide to do that to you tomorrow. My impression of Llewellyn is that he's still shaped by Vietnam. At some point he was faced with his own mortality in the war enough that he's capable of acting in his own disinterest in a life and death situation more simply than someone who was never exposed to the horrors of guerrilla warfare in the middle of the dense jungle would. He had to know if he saw combat that he and each of his fellow soldiers were ready to die for no good fucking reason every single day considering the effect that war had on returning veterans. Combined with this, he stumbles upon evidence of cartel activity, in the middle of open country. In my opinion, there's a percentage of people who in that situation themselves, would immediately understand that their life might as well be forfeit from that very moment. The last anyone heard, he left on on a hunting trip. Whichever hitman was present could happily disappear his body out there in the sticks and it'd take long enough for the missing persons report to be filed. It'd be up to sheer chance if you would ever see your family again if tomorrow you walked in on some cartel shit and saw something you, a civilian weren't meant to see. The way I see it, there's some part of Llewellyn's psyche, likely related to survivor's guilt from the war, that compels him to essentially act suicidally. Because imo, that particular war was uniquely terrible and distinct from the rest of the major American military operations of the 20th century. Chiefly in the style of combat, guerilla warfare in terrain that at times made detecting the enemy next to impossible. Somebody stuck in the jungles like that had to understand how much their fate was outside of their own control. And then the whole thing just becomes a rumination on that fact, with Llewellyn amongst a host of others who witnessed conditions that potentially traumatizing and destabilizing and who tragically could not fully make it back into reintegrating into society. It could happen to you too.
yes, but he DID. He got out of there with the money... everybody was dead. It just happened and nobody else knew. He got caught when he went back. they were waiting for him.
Big Bri They weren’t waiting, they just happened to show up at the time he decided to bring that guy some water. It was just shitty luck. Similar to the good luck/shitty luck he had in finding the money in the first place.
Exactly, and the book goes more in depth with character decisions, like bringing the gallon of water, and the whole philosophy of Anton Chigurh and how he works. The theory seemed too far fetched to me to be honest.
The movie is fairly true to the movie, Cohen brothers aren't the duo to diverge from the source material. It's fun what if to think about but doesn't hold up even to light scrutiny. Both characters are likely Vietnam veterans, and Moss and Chigurh aren't opposite sides of the same coin, Moss represented the once "good" giving in to sin and Chigurh - as he said - is an inevitability.
@@blazinchalice The movie is somewhat simplified in places, but much of the dialog is, or is nearly, word-for-word and the action is largely straight from the book. And "simplification" in order to make a viable screenplay doesn't necessarily equal "deviation" from the original story (which I just read two months ago, after seeing "No Country" a few times over the years).
Here's a thought for you. If they are two separate personalities that do not know of each other than Anton asking about Llewelyn's work makes sense. Somehow Anton became aware of Llewelyn and is trying to learn about him, I don't know to what end but maybe Anton is trying to win the war of personalities and become the only controlling personality. That could also explain the ambiguity of Llewelyn's death as it's a metaphor for Anton winning that battle. Been a long time since I've seen the movie, but a few thoughts on it. Good video sir.
You're brilliant, your work is SO unique and always so illuminating. You always bring something new to the discussion, and your video essays are incredibly well supported with visual evidence and clear explanation, truly you are a gem!!! PLEASE keep creating content and thank you for your work!!
When you really think about it Anton was a little too perfect, inhumanly perfect, adding Moss as another personality to his character gives him a flaw because Moss was human! Even on the two occasions where Anton gets injured one is a) at the hands of Moss and the other is b) after "killing" Moss's wife! It's like Anton is an Idea in conflict with the reality he is in, and the harder he rebels against that reality (Moss) the more it implodes on him!
This was a great video. It made me think about this movie in a whole new way. I'm going to watch N.C.F.O.M. again keeping in mind the things you discussed in this video. The only negative thing I have to say is I found the background music throughout the video to be to loud.
I see this film as yet another interpretation of Yojimbo in true fistful of dollars and Lastman standing tradition. waring factions lone wanderer antihero, rival factions, the dollars.The gunslinger, the sheriff. The passing of the torch. Story telling around the camp fire. Luck and fate.
WOW! Even though some might not agree with you, you possess one of the most Perspective and Imaginative Minds I've come across! Keep up the good work, Anti! 👍
You need to watch the last scene again. This is a version of the "...and then I woke up" story. The sheriff is the protagonist and he is dealing with his own mortality.
anton is a real person in this film, but he’s more of a hyper personified grim reaper... so his outlandish branding of the big gun and cow piston and not being seen, thats all real.. it’s just dramatized to enhance the viewers sense of his foreboding nature.. he’s death itself. He’s the fate that is unstoppable. As far as many of the other things mentioned, i know he said he’s just doing it for entertainment but i don’t think any of these hold water. Anton is meant to be a real person in this movie, just a heavily personified one for effect. And they did one hell of a job. He mentioned about how anton knew how he was in the hotel etc... i mean.. as the viewer, those details aren’t really important, you almost don’t even consider it bc of who anton is... he’s an unstoppable killer. That’s his job to hunt people down. I find those types of questions in movies a bit boring. When going to see a film we kind of agree to suspend belief a little bit depending on the film.. not everything has to be SO perfectly explained or 100% realistic. You would lose the exciting nature of most films and it would take you out of the film i think. The one thing i like about this movie is you almost forget you are watching a movie, it sucks you into the characters so much that you don’t need to question these very intricate and at times slightly unrealistic parts... again.. we suspend belief and give the director artistic room to entertain us. And in my opinion, i didn’t really question any of the things like.. how could anton go around with this big gun without being seen because the movie was done so well in making you realize that he was just this force of nature/fate that could do anything. But at the same time when he gets hit by the car and breaks his arm it balances it out showing you he is still human. Still one of my favorite movies
Everything you’ve said is perfectly plausible, which is part of what makes the movie so dam good. Makes me wonder why movies like this aren’t made more often. Considering you like this movie so much, I’d love a list of 10 or more of your favorite movies you’d recommend. Thanks!
You literally show them in the same frame at the same time as he's jumping out the window. You can see Anton in the doorway behind him as he jumps out the window and you literally show it lol
Excellent video - very thought provoking! I've seen the film a few times and I also wondered about Anton's seemingly supernatural abilities. His final scene with Sheriff Ed Tom Bell entering the hotel room struck me as very odd and purposely unclear, as if Anton was not really there. I thought the Sheriff was imagining the threat. Have you read the book? I don't recall Anton being at all ambiguous in the book, so I guess you can thank the Cohen brothers for planting the seed of your interesting theory.
He's a psychopath. The whole movie is based on how devoid of empathy a psychopath really is. There's a phrased coined by Robert Hare (the world's leading researcher of psychopath that goes like this... "A psychopath memorizes all the lyrics, but can't hear the music."
15:00 The reason why he's never described is because it would humanize him. The whole point of Anton is to be a supernatural being, a force of nature. To have the characters know what he looks like robs him of that power.
This was an awesome idea. I can definitely roll with it and it makes situations and the story more interesting. Now I’m going to rewatch it with this in my brain.
there is one Russian channel that copied your video and it got even more views than yours in general, he copies English-language videos translates into his language and puts them up for their channel name ЧБУ I want to stop it, it's just not fair everyone who reads this, go to his channel, throw a report
@@amo5824 как же оно так вдохновлено, если оно слово-в-слово повторяет факты из данного ролика? Даже кадры из фильма взяты те же. И называет он свои теории именно "своими", а не "вдохновленными вот этим иностранным ютубером". ЧБУ вор и предатель, потому что я тоже верил, что у него авторский контент, над которым он работает сам. А оказалось, что он переводит английские видео. Вот ссылка на разоблачение: ua-cam.com/video/vU72FcJTWEU/v-deo.html
I think the similarities between Anton and Llewellyn are there just to make them comparable opponents. I thought it was possible watching for the first time that Llewellyn might end up killing Anton. Them and Carson are all very crafty
Check out the movie “upgrade”. Seemed like they gave the viewer 2 endings to choose which one they believed. I feel like it would be a interesting video breakdown of all the clues they leave throughout the movie.
It's not what he believes it's a theory to make people think. Sometimes people just can't sit back and enjoy how much research and thought went behind this video. Besides a movie like this can be interpreted in any way a person wants. I think his theories are great. Do I agree? No not all the time. I do appreciate when someone makes me think about something in a new light. Gets the ole brain pumping.
The book is based on Bell’s commentary on the worsen world. Bell never met Chigurh in person. Just knew that there r horrible crimes all over the places. But he never concluded that it was done by the same perpetrator. Perhaps he personify these crimes as one brutal killer, could be Moss or other killer(s). Very interesting review, the movie n book r simply amazing.
This reminds me of the hospitaller knight in Kingdom of Heaven, there's a theory that he doesn't exist either and is either God or an angel speaking to Balian, who is in fact the only character to ever interact with the knight
"Anton Chigurh isn't real, he can't hurt you."
Anton Chigurh: *takes out air compressor*
That's not an air compressor mate xD The gas is already compressed inside the cylinder.
@@neithanm oof, right! 😂 I don't really know what the funk I was thinking but I should've said "compressed air" or whatever gas was in the cylinder (let's assume he's refilling it?? lol)
@@gensoumusic2145 When I read your comment I actually pictured him with an actual compressor, with its power cable and everything, and I thought shit, I missed something in the damn movie xD
Gensou Music koi
Gensou Music Anton Chigurh: *takes out quarter*
A decade later and people are still analyzing this masterpiece.
I KNOW RIGHT. CANT HELP BUT WATCH EVERY ONE OF THEM THOUGH
Analise this ua-cam.com/video/l6rjfJfWbuA/v-deo.html
Imagine seeing this movie 5 times in theaters cause you liked it so much, then everyone you talk to about the movie, respond with, “That movie was boring,” or “There has to be a sequel to explain what happened at the end,” or “I don’t see what the big deal is,” or “This is the kind of movie only white people could like.”
Copy that, Luke!
NCFOM is almost - for me, anyway - a PERFECT Movie:
1.) Great story - about the thrill and danger of discovering something both fantastic and catastrophic, and the cat-and-mouse aspect as well.
2.) A brutal "Soft" Movie. - that's my term for a film that doesn't have hardly any music, and not too much dialogue (just contrast that with all the bombastic, popcorn crap) and
3.) the Props, Wardrobe and Hairstyles:
you almost believe you were transported back to a dusty, gritty 1980 West Texas landscape.
In Joel and Ethan We Trust!
Still...
Imagine eating dinner at a nice joint and you hear Anton Chigurh's voice:
"I need you to pass the salt, please, sir."
Heads I pass it and tails you tell me what that oxygen bottle is for.
you steal this comment from this video :
( *No* *Country* *for* *Old* *Men* : *Josh* *Brolin's* *Unauthorized* *Behind* *the* *Scenes* )
ua-cam.com/video/HGh4AD6BT24/v-deo.html
@@Offline76 you got me!😭
Would say I cant - I dont see you -
Or the pepper. It's your choice
Seriously, Javier Bardem did an absolutely amazing job playing as Chigurh. There’s a reason he got an Oscar for the performance
Cinema will remember that performance for decades. It was flawless, the movie even by Coen bros. standards. To 25 feature films in history; it will never be replaced, and has endless preview value, layers upon layers. So excited to hear what your genius brain makes of it.
Have you read the novel? Might help you with additional details. For example in the novel, Anton's shotgun silencer is made from a cut off torch gas tank -oxy, propane, acetylene, etc and Llewelyn says he's a welder of anything.
Yooooo
Yooooooo
Yooooo
Yooooo
Yo
I thought, while watching this very enlightening video recap, that when Llewelyn saw the animals, he may have been seeing the drug deal going down. Taking it a step further maybe he knew they were people, but it symbolized that he had been aware of the drug deal and was stalking them like they were animals. This was a very well put together review of the movie.
The deer represents the group of drug dealers, and maybe when he sees the pit bull, it's actually just a very small flash forward to right after he comes across all of the dead bodies. The dog limping away and looking back at him is supposed to symbolize the "último hombre" trying to get away with the suitcase full of cash before collapsing by the tree.
You just answered one of my questions! I just asked how did he kill the paisas, solo. Thanks dude that insightful! You are a detective.
@@drewlavay Or he didn't come across the dead bodies, he shot the "Deer" but really was shooting one of the drug dealers setting off the cascade of them all killing each other.
Also Anton uses a device used to kill cattle. Llewelyn was hunting a heard of animals similar to cattle.
a red neck bigoted white vtrash response..no class. no intellect, only idiotic response to stimuli...
"Why would he think there is money" so you're just brushing over the pickup full of cocaine....alrighty.
He brushes over a lot of stuff to try and make this crackpot theory 'work'.
It doesn't.
He also thinks Llewellyn could have or should have seen the shoot-out location. But just because a landscape seems flat doesn't mean it is. The shoot out obviously took place in a hollow (or a "holler"), which from a distance couldn't even be perceived, never mind its contents.
this dude’s videos are consistently bad, now you know
Its at Mexican brown dope.
Heroin
Lewellyn Moss, living in a trailer park where people don't ask too many questions, while also being a high end wetworker for the cartels? It's easy to write him off as a welder, who has to go at odd hours to do jobs with all sorts of weird equipment. Good cover.
I buy this theory.
I think the whole story happens in the mind of the old sheriff (not in Llewelyn’ mind) because we’re watching it from his limited perspective. He’s the one who imagined Anton Chigurgh.
I like this theory. Anton represents the evil (ultimately unstoppable) force of nature that Ed Tom spends the whole movie afraid of.
I love this because the way the old sheriff talks about Llewelyn, saying he kindly doubts he did this, means maybe they were war buddies or at least had both been in the war so had that affinity. So to refuse his war buddy as the one taking the money and killing to get away he mixed the Anton as some other guy on his tail? And he's trying to save and help a friend.
You mean like, it's the old sheriff's exaggerated imagine of what the bad guy did? That'd be pretty cool. Like, in reality it was just a normal criminal dude. But the way he imagine it, it's this terminator like monster.
@@karenamyx2205 I more meant he refused to see his friend capable of doing this so he imagined Anton doing it when it was Llewelyn the whole time; but your idea is cool too!
The sheriff, Llewelyn and Anton are all the same guy…
"Hk mp5 is basically the same gun as a tec-9"
Good sir the gun community would have your head for that comment 😂
I know 😄. I meant they're both beefed up 9mm front load pistols. I know the differences are bigger than that.
Same same. Handle in back of magazine, short little drug dealer gun. Jesus, maybe the “gun community” can go back to jerking off to John wick.
No one in the gun community cares about John Wick....they care about Palmetto dropping an MP5 clone.
yea I deleted my comment because people who arent obsessed with guns tend to not care about the details lol
Justin La I think he was meaning in looks only.
Another possibility in support your theory:
The deer at the beginning
He shoots one in the stomach and it runs off to die elsewhere
They werent really deer
Those were the cartel members
The "deer" went to die under a tree
TOAOM123 oh but don't you remember at the beginning of the video... He doesn't make theories.
@@algsunshine7075
Which is why i made the theory not him ;)
TOAOM123 oh no he made a theory as well, he just doesn't want to call a spade a spade. You know, lmao 😂
LoL!... I was going to leave a comment like yours until I realized it's a trap!
breadcrumbs
Brilliant. Remember Clara's last dialog, "The coin don't have no side. It's just you.""
She actually said the coin have no “say”
Fun fact: This movie take place in 1980 and the TEC-9 Anton uses wasn't made until 1985
Cool fact ty
Fun fact - he actually uses an Interdynamic MP-9
I'm english and know nothing of guns, but any scene with guns in it has UA-cam comments with people correcting gun types, sounds, range, etc. The only thing I feel could match in terms of depth of knowledge is drinking tea and the queen.
thnx
Interesting. Do you think it was a mistake or a purposeful hint?
Anton is hated for one reason: he represents the bad guys who get away from human justice unscathed.
But Anton ends up pretty 'scathed'! Llewellyn gets him with the shotgun in his leg then he's T-boned by the station wagon, "Mister - you got a bone sticking outta your arm!" So, in the end, no one gets away with anything. None of us.
@@wes11bravo Considering all the evil Anton did, it's still a sweet bargain. Respect and cheers!
@@franciscogerardohernandezR1979 i agree that he ends up relatively unscathed. Its true about crime most murders end up forever unsolved.
@@wes11bravo But he is alive - just walk away - his arm will heal and he will go on with the killing.
So there is no karma there.
The thing is they don't ever really get away from justice in the end.
Absolutely love this theory, and I actually think it gives the last conversation he has with his wife more context. It always felt strange to me how much she seemed to almost recognise who it was as soon as he was sat there. I think the scene where the sherif looked at her with a sad look, wasn't because he was dead but because it was clear he was the one doing the killings. And she knew the second she saw him there he was crazy and guilty, but up until then she was still hoping he wasn't the man they said he was. The whole thing could honestly be from his wife's imagination and what she thought her husband was doing away. The sherif tells her he's a suspect and she creates anton as a way to not accept the reality of what he was doing. In the end he was the man they said he was and not the man she wanted him to be. all of that could be over analyzed and wrong though lol
Anton couldn't be real because of the scene he killed the cop along the highway. The cop was doing the trick draws and showing off his skills, but Anton easily killed him with a gun in a vertical shoulder holster. You could practice a life time with that holster and still get out drawn by Barnie Fife. It would have been plausible if the cop had missed, but it could be Hollywood plot armor.
But why the coin toss then?
@@kas1680 maybe as a way to disassociate himself from the action of killing, he thinks by giving them a 50/50 chance it's fate that kills them. Again just thought up on the spot haha
@@kas1680 the real guy could have been using that, or it was his imagination.
@@jasonrhodes9726 Which scene does he shoot a cop?
Giving a dying man a drink is a motif in western movies. Go watch the Unforgiven. Clint shoots a man in the belly but lets him get a drink even though he knows he is dying.
The same goes for mafia movies/shows.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly, Apocalypse Now
This is the first movie the reviewer has seen apparently.
@@SuicideVan hey, we all got to start somewhere.
Yes but he he didnt have anything to drink on him. Why leave. Go buy boots. And wait until night. Dudes gonna be dead.
I think the issue is that nothing in the text of the film has anything to do with dual personalities. Or identity. The text of the film is pretty explicitly about fate and chance...
"fate and chance" Yup.
Yup, and anton is a real person in this film, but he’s more of a hyper personified grim reaper... so his outlandish branding of the big gun and cow piston and not being seen, thats all real.. it’s just dramatized to enhance the viewers sense of his foreboding nature.. he’s death itself. He’s the fate that is unstoppable.
As far as many of the other things mentioned, i know he said he’s just doing it for entertainment but i don’t think any of these hold water. Anton is meant to be a real person in this movie, just a heavily personified one for effect. And they did one hell of a job.
He mentioned about how anton knew how he was in the hotel etc... i mean.. as the viewer, those details aren’t really important, you almost don’t even consider it bc of who anton is... he’s an unstoppable hit man. That’s his job to hunt people down. I find those types of questions in movies a bit boring.
When going to see a film we kind of agree to suspend belief a little bit depending on the film.. not everything has to be SO perfectly explained or 100% realistic.
You would lose the exciting nature of most films and it would take you out of the film i think.
The one thing i like about this movie is you almost forget you are watching a movie, it sucks you into the characters so much that you don’t need to question these very intricate and at times slightly unrealistic parts... again.. we suspend belief and give the director artistic room to entertain us.
And in my opinion, i didn’t really question any of the things like.. how could anton go around with this big gun without being seen because the movie was done so well in making you realize that he was just this force of nature/fate that could do anything.
But at the same time when he gets hit by the car and breaks his arm it balances it out showing you he is still human.
Still one of my favorite movies
The way he looked when he strangled the deputy was disgusting. He got pleasure out of doing it. That’s what drives him. He may not even take much money other than expenses. He does it for the pleasure. He loves the hunt. The power. The mind messin. The act. And getting away.
That’s what’s so bothersome about life and the film. Is the injustice of getting away with something. Justice is served to capitalist in office for dealing illegal drugs at others expense- ruined addicted lives and death. Justice for taking the money. Twisted justice in the bounty hunter making a living off other people being bad. And the injustice of death of innocents like deputy the driver the clerk the wife the wrong drug dealers mistake for the thieves but is justice too.
That’s how I see it.
its a layer
@@jasonborne5359 the car scene also shows fate because the light was red, the car that hit him ran the light. I agree with your breakdown too, and it's a splendid movie. He is just death personified.
Anton is also an "antonym" of Ed Tom Bell. Ed is the narrator whose mind won't accept that Llewelyn is a murderer so when he tells us the story, he splits those characters in two.
Also, fwiw, the first shots we see of Llewelyn are him hunting on a desert plain. Appropriate since 'Llewelyn' is a welsh name that means "like a lion"
This is a stretch, but Llewellyn meaning "like a lion" actually might help. There's a few scenes related to cats/felines. Llewellyn watches the cat drink the milk in the hotel. Anton drinks milk in Llewellyn's home (like a cat). At the end of the movie, Ellis talks about his cats, saying that "some are outlaws" but also "some are HALF wild" (half, 50/50, coin toss, etc.). This might be a glimpse into Llewellyn's true nature, being Anton inside, a stalking predator much like a lion/cat. Idk just a thought.
The whole thesis of the film is Anton is real. Ed Tom must come to grips with the existence of men like Anton. He cannot stomach it. Thus its "no country for old men"
Ed tom is mentally prepared for the common sort of criminal. Movitated by greed wrath envy passion etc. Normal human emotions. But there is a new kind of criminal that he cannot fathom. No one can fathom chigurgh not even his employers. To encounter him is not merely to touch death but to touch the very unknown. Its that shift in perspective that shakes those who have survived and those who witness his wake so much. One is left to wonder is this thing in our "decent" world or are we in the monsters world.
Nice.
@Mat 11 yes but the actual point of the book and movie need to be stated for the brainlets in the audience who might think all this pulling from straw that's more convoluted than the intended meaning of the movie is somehow smart or profound.
His own father tells the sheriff that he's just getting old and that other sheriffs have gone through the same change in mind.
It's not the world or the criminals who are changing. It's people like the Sheriff getting older and not being able to keep up.
You basically disregard all the info from the video with a pseudophilsophical statement.
Yes and no. The "no country for old men" philosophy is more general and summarized everything that makes a person feel as tho the world is changing too fast, and that they can't and don't want to adapt to the changes that are depreciating to a society's values.
Right or wrong, I found your analysis well thought out and, entertaining.
Couldn't have put it better
1:53
"The dialogue is natural, and every character feels so well developed, even if their only on screen for one scene. But even in its perfection, I feel there's something off about it."
Welcome, dear boy, to the Coen brothers!
Cormac Mccarthy + the Coen bros
@@inleblack1136 Apparently, I need more Cormac McCarthy in my life.
@@ignatiusjackson235 I highly recommend him.. Have a read of Blood Meridian it's amazing, also The Border Trilogy.. Pretty much everything he has wrote I love but those books will suck you in to his writing.
📚😁
@@inleblack1136 Thanks for the recommendations!
“... a Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson”. Few millennials will appreciate the gravity of that comment.
*Whippersnappers
smiled a bit.
Tom Foolery what does it mean
Jason Eaton
www.techtimes.com/articles/97976/20151021/bo-jackson-unstoppable-tecmo-bowl.htm
I couldn’t explain it any better than the article does.
Really because literally everyone I know is under 30 and knows who Bo Jackson is and what Tecmo Bowl was, and how OP he was in the game, i don't think I've met someone who doesn't
Update: Anton, Mr and Mrs Moss and every character chasing that briefcase full of cash are ALL parts of Sheriff Bell's dream, just like Oz is all part of Dorothy's dream in Wizard of Oz. In the last moments of the story Mrs Bell asks him if he slept alright. That's the clue. It explains why Anton could disappear from a motel room or why it's never explained why Anton's arrested in the first scenes. A dream.
Perhaps a dream to cope with some unsolved case under similar circumstances year before hand. He's never been able to get the death of Luann out of his head.
This person clearly doesn't understand McCarthy... "Whatever exists without my knowledge exists without my consent"
I was about to write almost the same thing. Like they say, just ask the author.
Never saw, "Vanilla Sky".
If they ever manage to commit the judge to celluloid, I don't think I'll ever stop watching it.
Yeah, I hope the creator of this video reads the novel. I think that'll give them more depth for their analysis than just the movie. There's a *lot more* going on in the novel. (Also I just really like Cormac McCarthy's novels so I'll tell people to read them whenever I get a chance.)
@@icarussuraki9929 I'm reading Blood Meridian. It's not easy.
7:30 "The H&K and the TEC-9 are basically the same gun." LOL. That's funny. Let me trade you my Timex for your Rolex sometime.
True; but effectively they are. 9x19 SMG that has the magazine outside of the grip and a barrel shorter than usual. Your average person would confuse them and if made to equal build standards there wouldn’t be much difference at all.
For cinematic purposes this is interchangeable; basically representing the same weapon but being used by two different sides of the same coin.
@@FreedomsLife1776 Nevertheless, if the script writer/McCarthy intended to suggest it was the same gun (and maybe the same person), he would have made it the SAME, not similar.
@@miblish5168 I hear ya and I agree. Just explaining why he would come to that conclusion. This theory has me fucked up hahah I’ve been doing the analysis myself while watching the movie and he is on to something.
It's pronounced heckler and coke
@@miblish5168 That’s just like, your opinion, man
I remember HATING the ending. It felt like we were robbed of any kind of resolution. Your interpretation of this film has me intrigued and now I actually want to see it again. Thank you!
"Tecmo Bowl Bo Jackson"... as someone born in 1980, I felt that one, haha. Bo was absolutely an unstoppable force of nature in that game.
He was almost unstoppable in real life, too.
Most definitely
I’m not sure that he was as unstoppable as Tyson in Punch Out.
@@guitarguru.3572 you are BUGGING. All of us beat Mike Tyson on that game eventually. If your boy chose THE RAIDERS??? There is no way he not getting 300 yards on you with Bo rushing the ball.....and that's on the low end.
I lost it when he said that. The epic Tecmo Super Bowl intro immediately started playing in my head.
*Me:* Do you have any idea how crazy you are?
*AntiLogic Chigurh:* You mean the nature of this film theory, friendo?
*Me:* I mean the nature of you.
P.S.: _No Country for Old Men_ is horror? I totally agree. Anton using a cattle slaughterhouse gun to kill a guy while weirdly smiling & politely telling him to hold still, his conversation with the gas station owner is way creepy--he didn't murder the man, but it sure felt close to a killing (dude probably messed his pants big time), and he'll kill you wherever you are (office high rise, motel, hotel, house, police station, doesn't matter, he'll find you, and if you're lucky, he'll give you a chance with his quarter--or then again, not ("I won't tell you you can save yourself, because you can't").
I stumbled across your Fight Club video and discovered the rest of your channel from there.
You've got a lot of really thought provoking ideas presented in an entertaining way, thanks for sharing!
Interesting, I think there are two types of people, the people who have to know how the magic trick is done and those that just enjoy the magic.
I didn't think the water plotline implausible.
In the moment he just wanted to get out of there, but with distance the man's plight (dying without water alone in the desert) started building and building in his mind.
It's like the critic never read The Telltale Heart in middle school, but I don't think he got that far before ending up in "day school."
rlly late, but Im pretty sure there's just a motif of people doing nice things ends up getting them killed throughout the entire movie, that's how I saw it.
I also get the sense that something about Chigurgh is off: he seems more of a personification rather than a person. However, the split personality idea is certainly a stretch. Your first bit of analysis is spot-on, but then it sort of goes off the rails. :) You are certainly creative though, and I love what you'll find when you see a great film 30+ times (Blade Runner and Fargo for me).
Maybe Chigurgh is how Ed imagines Llewellyn to be. Ed is an aging sherif find it hard to keep up his work, and is also embellishing the story to discourage new recruits from digging too deep without proper support, especially a big case that involve a total of 4 million deal. Something like that needs enough boots from at least two counties to handle.
*said in Frances McDormand's Minnesotan accent* "ohya."
"Are we square?"
Anyone else feel like the "all in his head" is one of the most overused explain-aways...
Yes
Especially in horror films
Yes, but I digress.
That’s not how I want to put it. It’s how it is.
It was only good in American Psycho and Fight Club, nothing else
Some think that a similar thing is going on with McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian. It's based on an autobiography called "My Confession" by Samuel Chamberlain, and there's clear evidence that all of the characters in that book were real apart from one: Judge Holden. The speculation is that Chamberlain invented Holden to cover up the fact that he and the other members of the Glanton Gang were the ones who actually committed the atrocities that were ascribed to Holden; it's one thing to admit to killing peaceful natives and the mexicans that you are meant to be protecting (because their scalps look like those of the natives that you're meant to be killing) but it's another thing entirely to admit to the r*pe, torture, and murder of children. So both Anton Chigurh and Judge Holden can be seen as 'devilish scapegoat' characters; they are the fictional actors of evil we blame for our own twisted decisions and actions.
Judge Holden is a vehicle to convey the dark aspect of our psyche, and consumes " the boy" in the end. Blood Meridian is a story about a guy who never had a chance, broken from boyhood.
" All are fated to darkness below the votive lamps. Bears that dance, and bears that don't." ~Judge Holden
Ah, The Dance.. What really draws us all to this place.. dancing, dancing, forever dancing Alone.
Yes! I just posted about this, citing it as being an unpopular theory. Lo and behold, I am not alone. There are so many clues that the judge is a figurative evil residing in the heart of the kid/the man. It's baffling that so many fans of the novel still interpret otherwise.
I haven't read chamberlain's book yet, but I have a pdf, are you telling me the judge features in that too?
@@POPEASS1 That's the only source in which the Judge appears and why he was probably just an invention of Chamberlain's. Could you somehow provide a link or reference to the pdf of My Confession please? I looked but couldn't find one.
ahemm so you saw it like 40 times but only now noticed there is no soundtrack to it?
Whenever I think of this movie, I think "I cant give out no information!" Not sure if that woman is an actress, but her character was great
Minor characters are just one of the Coen's fortés. Nail it every damn time
Loved that scene. The unstoppable force meets the immovable object.
I sssssaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidddddd.
I think she’s related to the old waitress in Hell Or High Water.
But at the end of the day Anton isn't real. His real name is Javier
i believe you mean his name is Raoul Silva
His name is JOHN CENA
How dare you
Go down a level lol
The fight club scene where Marla yells calls the cops and she and Tyler are in the hall way and she points to where her apartment is and the cop acknowledges her makes her a real character.
and dude fought in Vietnam, that's why hes all obsessed with being tactical
In the book, he was not just a Viet vet, he was a sniper. So field craft and thinking about how the enemy would act and react would be important to him.
“Yeah I wuz in Nam’”
Of course he’s good with weapons
Bro what if it’s the PTSD
@unusual guy69, you're kidding, right?
I see more holes in this theory than in the movie. I’m willing to give the idea that Lewellyn and Anton are the same person, but none of the supporting evidence is strong enough to persuade me.
About going back to give the drug dealer water: he didn’t do it because he and Anton are one and the same and needed a reason to go back out there. He didn’t purposely wait until dark just to fuck with the guy, either. He had no intentions of helping anybody, especially a drug dealer. He’s a good ol boy that would lay down his life for kin folk, but the drug dealer is a low life that wouldn’t think twice about putting a bullet in Lewellyn’s head so he says fuck it, you don’t get shit from me. But later, Llewelyn’s conscience gets the best of him. How you treat others is not a reflection of what they deserve, rather, it’s a reflection of ones education and morals. Llewellyn decides that he needs to go back with water to declare that he is a good person to himself.
avega2792 he has empathy.
avega2792 Well said
In the book he’s a former sniper who has seen men like that die and his conscience is haunting him he also says he did 2 tours in nam
He knows it's stupid, calls himself an idiot and fearing he'll "get his dumb ass shot", but he also felt it was the right thing to do. Wasn't a plan he had.
Agreed, I come to this channel because I absolutely disagree with this guy all the time, so I'm glad to see comments like these.
I'd like to offer my opinion on the 'death of Llewelyn,' in an attempt to make it fit into this train of thought. Maybe it's a psychological death rather than a literal one and it's meant to represent the death of what good is left. The motives and needs of Anton finally cross paths with the motives and needs of Llewelyn. Anton feels he needs to kill Carla Jean, Llewelyn wouldn't go along with it, so Anton kills him off as a personality.
She even said "My husband wants me dead? That don't make no sense"
What if Carla actually killed herself because she lost her mother and husband at the same time
The flaw in Llewellyn's character is actually the goodness in him. mccarthy's books are often about the incompatibility of goodness in our plain of existence. every character he's written that is the hero~ isn't particularly good, but there is goodness in them and that sets them apart from the world and also makes them less fit to survive therein
what you say doesnt make sense is exactly what's center to the characters. just thought i'd give some answers to the questions you were askin :-)
Olin Caprison
Thats a great point! It is a novel point of view and one can see how great characters could come out of this point of view.
@GazB absolutely agree. i hate atomization. compassion and altruism are necessary for survival, and anyone that says otherwise is just repeating a *misinterpretation* of darwinism propagated by capitalism. mccarthy dissects the viewpoints promulgated in the myth of the american west, that's why his worlds are so bleak and occupied mostly by men haha
it's not the book he's talking about, but the film, there is definitely mirroring going on, so it is a question of interpretation. Perhaps the Cohen bros. were thinking along the lines of what is being described here or maybe they had some other reason for doing it.
Mortal and Jamie are on to something - I think most fans of Cormac McCarthy (one of the greatest writers of his generation) would agree with both of them.
Anton for me is “death” - a modern version of the grim reaper in human form - an unstoppable force of nature - like the Judge in “Blood Meridian” - another Cormac book with some similar themes. The Sheriff knows what he is and is powerless to stop him - time to retire. Llewelyn is the foil who comes close, but in the end can’t beat “death”.
Sheriff says at the beginning how much he doubts Llewellyn would have been involved.
So maybe the Anton/Llewellyn cat-n-mouse game is just a creation in the sheriff's head?
I think all the similarities between the characters is to make the line between good and evil blurred. And us question the subtle differences and similarities of good and evil.
When you look through Fight Club lenses, all you see is Fight Club.
I was pretty convinced until I recalled the scene where Anton grilled the trailer park landlord about where Llewellyn was and she didn't cooperate. She would have known who he was.
Maybe you chalk it up to he imagined it.
@Entity Water What? He’s imaging confronting Anton and avenging Moss, but in reality old time justice (the Sheriff) doesn’t work anymore. Anton isn’t really there, he’s hoping he might be or fearful of it. Instead, he’s faced with the disappointing reality that he won’t catch the man he’s hunting, and that Moss died for seemingly no reason.
@Entity Water No bro didn’t you notice? Ed Tom and the fat woman from the trailer park are the same character.
Hey man I just found your channel because russian youtber 'ЧБУ' made a video with this theory. Damn wish you spoke russian so you both could discuss it on stream or something like that. Very interesting thoughts! Kudos to you!
тоже пришел проверить бред это или нет)
ну наверное чбу как раз и взял это из этого видоса
Весь контент ЧБУ это версии с реддита
Случайно отчекал и нашёл. Немного разочарование...
@@Dastan1595 😁😁
Прошёл ещё время , новая версия Чигур вовсе не Чигур
The jug of water wasn’t to save the guy’s life. It was to make Moss feel better about himself. “Here. I brought water. I’m a good guy.”
EDIT: Anton and Moss are together in the scene where they shoot at each other. Anton even shoots Moss...
EDITagain: Moss asked where the last guy went because a shootout like that only happens when lots of money is on the line. If there is no “ultima hombre” then the money is in one of the trucks, free for the taking. Otherwise, Moss is a veteran with a scoped rifle on the wide open plains... And the last man standing is probably hurt, probably alone, and definitely carrying a lot of money that Moss can take. Moss senses easy payday.
They never show Anton and Moss together in that scene, never in the same frame.
Skip to 1:51 to see Anton and Moss in the same frame. ua-cam.com/video/GKt6dCi-LJo/v-deo.html
It's just character building. He's a good guy but broke and lives in a trailer. Lol plus it keeps the story rolling.
Ed Tom and Anton are the same guy that's why Luellen doesn't ask who he is and says I thought you looked crazy.
@@WisdomThumbs -- I don't see them in the same frame. What are you talking about?
“Like the fucking terminator” is what made me sub lol. But about the boots, all I have to say is you’re clearly not from Texas.
same
It's my first time finding you. I love how you processes this film. So much fun!!
I think it’s a great theory. As for those so stuck on the novel, “The Shining” comes to mind.
Every iconic shot and element that makes Kubrick’s film adaptation great, does not appear in Stephen King’s novel. He bought the rights and completely reimagined it, and we are still discovering hidden themes and intentions, 40 years later, through the Kubrick archives. He even went to great lengths to place metaphors and symbolism into the film that he never explained to anyone, except for his wife.
I think it’s an “Anti-Logic” argument to lean so hard on the novel, when the Coen brothers clearly enjoy The same exposition, layered symbolism, hidden themes, etcetera. They have stated many times just how influential Kubrick was on them.
To be honest, I also think it’s completely against logic to believe that the Coen brothers would ever adapt a novel without putting their own twist on it. That wouldn’t be any fun.
Cheers 🍻
Except the movie is almost exactly the same as the book in this adaptation except for omitting one scene that explains why Anton kills the people he is supposed to be working with
@@ajwall1 The book also goes into more detail before the shooting at the motel with the girl he meets there. But yes it's an amazing book for anyone that hasn't read it yet.
I read the book first and was amazed at the level of detail and consistency between the film and book.
The Confirmation Bias is strong with this one.
whats that?
@@bigbri7519 Confirmation Bias is a logical fallacy, which states that someone is more likely to find and appreciate information that promotes their own ideas, while intentionally or unintentionally ignoring and down-playing information which contradicts or does not support their ideas.
Yeah it got more and more convoluted the longer it went on and he was basically making a whole new story
It is not a logical fallacy, but a cognitive bias
@@igs_ granted the beginning of the video explains that’s what he’s doing is re writing the story on his own theories.
I realized in the final scene when, the now retired sheriff tells his wife the story about his dreams it kinda dawned on me that Chigurh might not be real, he's just a story left to be told by the characters in the movie. When he gets into the accident at the end and the kids on the bike help him, he tells them to say he was already gone. I think he suppose to represent the tales/ stories of people are left with to tell. There's another scene with Chigurh and and the Sheriff where he goes back to the crime scene and looks for Anton but he not there but before he enters the shot shows Anton waiting behind in cover in darkness, but then idk because the sheriff then finds the coin on the ground that was used to retrieve the case, but then idk again either because when he visits ol'boy wife at the end she saws she doesn't have the money and I can't remember exactly but I don't think the language he used insinuaited that he had the money. SO idk maybe that's what the whole story is about the one tale of cat and mouse seen through the eyes of the characters in the movie. ( this is just a rambling lol )
Maybe Sheriff was the only real and other characters were just some story he created from not knowing what really happens in those crime scenes
Holy shit, that's a good way to look at it.
So kinda what he already said at 6:13 🤷🏻♂️
Exactly like Anti-Logic says near the beginning of the video?
@@_JayRamsey_ in a way, yeah but extending that even Llewelyn storyline is not real, not just Anton's side of it
That's just as brilliant as the video. Fantastic concept.
This movie is about luck, free will, faith, causality, and the reality that death follows us like a shadow. You went way off the rails.
Its the most insulting dissection of the film i've ever had the displeasure of experiencing.
Agent Migs 😂 I must agree.
Yea this guy is a complete fucking idiot! 💀
Amere Mortal you realize, when you study literature, journalism, or anything like that, you’re trained to search for alternate meanings, metaphors, transfers of subject and hidden messages.
A movie could work on different levels and have alternate meanings. It simultaneously explores the themes of faith, fate, changing of times, nihilism and could be seen with the lens of theories which could bring whole new level of appreciation to the film.
Doesn't matter if the ideas are correct or not, its an insightful and creative thought experiment. With art, sometimes, its more important that anything else. Cheers for that mate.
I love a video that starts with a title that sounds completely absurd, and makes a rational case for it. Well done
@GazB well, as rational as you can be when rewriting a film we have all seen.
I’ve always thought Chigurh was an ancient demon, an angel of death who has been casted down from Heaven and haunts the Texas plains, delivering his twisted gospel and violent misery to those he came across. There’s just something cosmic and monstrous about him every time he pops up on screen.
A less perverse version of the Judge, I'd say
Besides all the killing (and other than Wells&Carla Jean - He is doing his job...in fact even Wells & C.J. he does due to his personal code), Chigurgh is the least greedy, lazy, emotional, irrational, characters in the story...I have read the book over 30 times, seen film almost 20...just a great story ALMOST flawlessly adapted by the 2 best filmmakers of the last 30 odd years.
Chigurgh IS real, but I like to think that he's isn't exactly Human...One of McCarthy's Best characters - and that's saying a lot! The dude knows how to tell a story and I don't want him to ever not be a storyteller - but I always forget that we're MORTAL....phhhh. suxxxxx!
The reason why Joker and Fight Club can have the split personality stuff is because they establish that's what's going on. They don't do that in this movie, and that's not what's going on. And that body on the floor is obviously Llewellyn. Ed Tom knows Llewellyn but the other guy he's talking about green hair with doesn't so of course he's not gonna have a conversation about someone that guy doesn't know.
If they had gone with the description of Chigur from the novel ( non-descript, unremarkable other than an air of menace) this would lean even harder into your theory. As much as I love Bardim in this movie , he is way too distinctive.
also: What do you think of the Fight Club interpretation of Ferris Bueller's Day Off?
Maybe I'm tripping but in the novel Chigurh had a fairly idiosyncratic appearance; dark skin and blue eyes and like ostrich skin boots and other weird Texas clothing shit, or something like that
What's the fight club interpretation of Ferris bueller's day off????? Please tell! Lol
@@Noahthelasercop read the book at the end, where they are talking to the kids that he bought the shirt from after the car accident. He is described as having blue eyes and tan skin, ut also described as average height, average build, unremarkable, but described as a man "that when he speaks, you'd better listen"
@@Neon_Ghost1 Simplest put: Ferris isn't real. Cameron is his real life and Ferris is the fantasy he projects.
We see Ferris' parents (loving, doting, wrapped around his finger) but not Cameron ( cold, distant, dad even sounds borderline abusive). Everyone loves Ferris, no one mentions Cameron.
Seriously no one outside of the group mentions Cameron. No one at all. If Ferris was his best friend Cameron would be popular (or at least well known). There are only two times in the movie where someone outside of the group even acknowledges Cameron or speaks to him directly. Both times (trying to blag their way into the fancy restaurant, and dropping off the Ferrari) are times of extreme anxiety for Cameron (that's when the "real" him comes out). This also explains why when they called the school to get Sloane out: why didn't it occur to Rooney the other guy on the phone could be Cameron? why when he was looking for Ferris he never tried to find Cameron, or even mention him in passing?
There's more but that's the main thrust of it
I like the idea of this being a Fight Club-esque retelling but without the reveal. A bit like the Fountain in that regard. You're never explicitly told the physical connection between the three stories accept the Fountain is a bit more overt about it's fantastical elements.
Patrick Bateman didn't imagine going on a killing spree.
There's no flaws in this movie. The only flaws are with The Coen brothers. They are sometimes a hit and miss with their movies.
With this movie, without a doubt they produced a masterpiece
why doesn't the guy just use pay phone tip if he cares about the man in the truck? get him help immediately if he wanted him to live? it's a big flaw in logic. definitely a cat and mouse masterpiece--well saber tooth tiger and mouse anyway
@@porkfrog2785 Llewellyn bringing the water back to the scene actually SAVES him, because had he not gone back he would have sat in his trailer with the money which was bugged with a device that both the Mexicans and Anton had a tracker for. The only reason Anton and the Mexicans don't immediately find Llewellyn is because Llewellyn KNEW they had his truck VIN and went on the run. If he had just sat at home he woulda been toast. So the "rule" Llewellyn followed actually saved him. However, his rules end up killing him as well when he turns down the pool lady's offer for beer in her room, which would have let him spot the Mexicans from inside her room.
@@edwardw3345 I'm not disagreeing, just saying it's not logical and believable. Also, I think it's an assumption he sits tight with the money otherwise. The tracker had a very limited range, as the vid says, and may even be that way so it could be followed in a trailing vehicle on a double-cross. So with the range so limited no witnesses and no clue where to start? he'd have to be an idiot not to assume the baddies wouldn't be looking either way and not leave town soon-too soon for him to be found. We do know from the rest of the film, he's pretty sharp. I do not disagree with your analysis of how his move affects the plot--it's essential to the plot and to get things moving--it also creates a jaw-droppingly original swimming chase scene...I literally put down my weights and stopped my workout, utterly floored and enchanted
Guys I'am Pennywise the dancing clown not The Coen Brother's.
How the fuck should I know?
@GazB He was gutshot which fucks w/ attention to detail, and he could change his appearance, but its good thinking regardless
Anton is not real. He is however a genuine and persistent myth, like Greek drama. Symbolized in the twin faces of comedy and tragedy. Same character, but with two faces. Why Greek? Byzantium is a city of the ancient Greek empire. The title No Country for Old Men comes from a poem, Sailing for Byzantium, by William Butler Yeats. A poem about a spiritual journey. One of the most dramatic scenes in the film is two men, but their faces are never in the same frame at the same moment. The coin toss scene. We can all see both sides of a quarter, but not at the same time. The camera keeps showing us the faces of the players but not at the same time. AntiLogic's notion about Anton and Llewellyn being the same coin with two sides, the Greek faces of comedy and tragedy. I like it a lot.
@@biffbutowski2447 Anton being "unreal" does not mean that horrible evil doesn't surround his image or affect the minds of those who believe in him. Some of the greatest evil in human history has come to pass because people were obsessed with ghosts, devils and vampires.
Yes, but it just doesn't fit. Carsen said "I know him every which way." He talked TO Lewelyn ABOUT Anton." That theory completely negates that one scene.
@@bigbri7519 They are all characters in Sheriff Bell's dream, which ends moments before the film concludes. Just like Wizard of Oz. The film begins with Bell's narration, and it ends with him talking about dreams he has.
@@bigbri7519 He is talking to Lewelyn about a killer, that we perceive as Anton, but he has never seen him. It is entirely possible he is talking to Lewelyn about Lewelyn without knowing it. The assumptions McCarthy, and the Cohen bros give to the viewer/reader is what makes you believe these two things could not be congruent, but that does not mean they could not be.
It has been a long time since I read the book, but I am tempted to do so again just to see if I could pick up anything to support this perspective within McCarthy's original writing. His books are all traumatic to read though, so I am reticent to try and read them anymore.
Anton is absolutely real
AWESOME video, AWESOME channel. New subscriber here, love it!
My whole interpretation of the movie/book have always been that it's just meant to be a parable about chance and shit luck. Chigurh is supposed to represent a symbol of people trying to put a face on cosmic injustice. They each tell him at some point "You know, you don't have to do this." And he does it anyway. He himself gets hit by a car, just out of shit luck. Why? Because God or whoever is in control could flip a coin and decide to do that to you tomorrow.
My impression of Llewellyn is that he's still shaped by Vietnam. At some point he was faced with his own mortality in the war enough that he's capable of acting in his own disinterest in a life and death situation more simply than someone who was never exposed to the horrors of guerrilla warfare in the middle of the dense jungle would. He had to know if he saw combat that he and each of his fellow soldiers were ready to die for no good fucking reason every single day considering the effect that war had on returning veterans. Combined with this, he stumbles upon evidence of cartel activity, in the middle of open country. In my opinion, there's a percentage of people who in that situation themselves, would immediately understand that their life might as well be forfeit from that very moment. The last anyone heard, he left on on a hunting trip. Whichever hitman was present could happily disappear his body out there in the sticks and it'd take long enough for the missing persons report to be filed. It'd be up to sheer chance if you would ever see your family again if tomorrow you walked in on some cartel shit and saw something you, a civilian weren't meant to see.
The way I see it, there's some part of Llewellyn's psyche, likely related to survivor's guilt from the war, that compels him to essentially act suicidally. Because imo, that particular war was uniquely terrible and distinct from the rest of the major American military operations of the 20th century. Chiefly in the style of combat, guerilla warfare in terrain that at times made detecting the enemy next to impossible. Somebody stuck in the jungles like that had to understand how much their fate was outside of their own control. And then the whole thing just becomes a rumination on that fact, with Llewellyn amongst a host of others who witnessed conditions that potentially traumatizing and destabilizing and who tragically could not fully make it back into reintegrating into society. It could happen to you too.
yes, but he DID. He got out of there with the money... everybody was dead. It just happened and nobody else knew. He got caught when he went back. they were waiting for him.
Big Bri They weren’t waiting, they just happened to show up at the time he decided to bring that guy some water. It was just shitty luck. Similar to the good luck/shitty luck he had in finding the money in the first place.
Blood Meridian is my all time favorite book as McCarthy uses violence as almost a character or a background setting
This is a great comment. I agree.
@@anonymousbosch9265 I decided to start with that one, now in the middle of it.
I like the theory , I heard something similar elsewhere . But then I read the book . Anton is real .
Exactly, and the book goes more in depth with character decisions, like bringing the gallon of water, and the whole philosophy of Anton Chigurh and how he works. The theory seemed too far fetched to me to be honest.
I don't know how much the Coens deviated from the source material, yet it is not uncommon for films to deviate quite a lot.
The movie is fairly true to the movie, Cohen brothers aren't the duo to diverge from the source material. It's fun what if to think about but doesn't hold up even to light scrutiny. Both characters are likely Vietnam veterans, and Moss and Chigurh aren't opposite sides of the same coin, Moss represented the once "good" giving in to sin and Chigurh - as he said - is an inevitability.
@@blazinchalice They dont diverge a lot..its the same thing word for word, scene for scene
@@blazinchalice The movie is somewhat simplified in places, but much of the dialog is, or is nearly, word-for-word and the action is largely straight from the book. And "simplification" in order to make a viable screenplay doesn't necessarily equal "deviation" from the original story (which I just read two months ago, after seeing "No Country" a few times over the years).
Anton and loo Ellen are on screen at the same time,only for two shots, but it still happens
Here's a thought for you. If they are two separate personalities that do not know of each other than Anton asking about Llewelyn's work makes sense. Somehow Anton became aware of Llewelyn and is trying to learn about him, I don't know to what end but maybe Anton is trying to win the war of personalities and become the only controlling personality. That could also explain the ambiguity of Llewelyn's death as it's a metaphor for Anton winning that battle.
Been a long time since I've seen the movie, but a few thoughts on it.
Good video sir.
I think you missed something, his men do interact with marla at the end, they are clearly seen dragging her in the room
You're brilliant, your work is SO unique and always so illuminating. You always bring something new to the discussion, and your video essays are incredibly well supported with visual evidence and clear explanation, truly you are a gem!!! PLEASE keep creating content and thank you for your work!!
I appreciate that. I'm working on something now. Should be out Sunday 🤞🏼
When you really think about it Anton was a little too perfect, inhumanly perfect, adding Moss as another personality to his character gives him a flaw because Moss was human! Even on the two occasions where Anton gets injured one is a) at the hands of Moss and the other is b) after "killing" Moss's wife! It's like Anton is an Idea in conflict with the reality he is in, and the harder he rebels against that reality (Moss) the more it implodes on him!
Llewelyn dying is the completion of his transformation into Anton.
This was a great video. It made me think about this movie in a whole new way. I'm going to watch N.C.F.O.M. again keeping in mind the things you discussed in this video. The only negative thing I have to say is I found the background music throughout the video to be to loud.
Me after I watch an Antilogic Vid.
BIG BRAIN
I really like this theory believe it or not it shows how well they set up parallels between Anton and Llewelyn
Y'all should read the book, its even better, and it gives more character to Anton
I see this film as yet another interpretation of Yojimbo in true fistful of dollars and Lastman standing tradition.
waring factions lone wanderer antihero, rival factions, the dollars.The gunslinger, the sheriff. The passing of the torch. Story telling around the camp fire. Luck and fate.
WOW!
Even though some might not agree with you, you possess one of the most Perspective and Imaginative Minds I've come across!
Keep up the good work, Anti! 👍
You need to watch the last scene again. This is a version of the "...and then I woke up" story. The sheriff is the protagonist and he is dealing with his own mortality.
anton is a real person in this film, but he’s more of a hyper personified grim reaper... so his outlandish branding of the big gun and cow piston and not being seen, thats all real.. it’s just dramatized to enhance the viewers sense of his foreboding nature.. he’s death itself. He’s the fate that is unstoppable.
As far as many of the other things mentioned, i know he said he’s just doing it for entertainment but i don’t think any of these hold water. Anton is meant to be a real person in this movie, just a heavily personified one for effect. And they did one hell of a job.
He mentioned about how anton knew how he was in the hotel etc... i mean.. as the viewer, those details aren’t really important, you almost don’t even consider it bc of who anton is... he’s an unstoppable killer. That’s his job to hunt people down. I find those types of questions in movies a bit boring.
When going to see a film we kind of agree to suspend belief a little bit depending on the film.. not everything has to be SO perfectly explained or 100% realistic.
You would lose the exciting nature of most films and it would take you out of the film i think.
The one thing i like about this movie is you almost forget you are watching a movie, it sucks you into the characters so much that you don’t need to question these very intricate and at times slightly unrealistic parts... again.. we suspend belief and give the director artistic room to entertain us.
And in my opinion, i didn’t really question any of the things like.. how could anton go around with this big gun without being seen because the movie was done so well in making you realize that he was just this force of nature/fate that could do anything.
But at the same time when he gets hit by the car and breaks his arm it balances it out showing you he is still human.
Still one of my favorite movies
Everything you’ve said is perfectly plausible, which is part of what makes the movie so dam good. Makes me wonder why movies like this aren’t made more often. Considering you like this movie so much, I’d love a list of 10 or more of your favorite movies you’d recommend. Thanks!
You literally show them in the same frame at the same time as he's jumping out the window. You can see Anton in the doorway behind him as he jumps out the window and you literally show it lol
He had a Beatles haircut
he probably couldve been better than Ringo
Excellent video - very thought provoking! I've seen the film a few times and I also wondered about Anton's seemingly supernatural abilities. His final scene with Sheriff Ed Tom Bell entering the hotel room struck me as very odd and purposely unclear, as if Anton was not really there. I thought the Sheriff was imagining the threat. Have you read the book? I don't recall Anton being at all ambiguous in the book, so I guess you can thank the Cohen brothers for planting the seed of your interesting theory.
He's a psychopath. The whole movie is based on how devoid of empathy a psychopath really is. There's a phrased coined by Robert Hare (the world's leading researcher of psychopath that goes like this...
"A psychopath memorizes all the lyrics, but can't hear the music."
They both say hold still just about a min between their scenes at the beginning too. Thats a big clue I think.
Funny profile pic my man, thumbs up.
15:00 The reason why he's never described is because it would humanize him. The whole point of Anton is to be a supernatural being, a force of nature. To have the characters know what he looks like robs him of that power.
Enjoy the Heavy Spoilers effect. This is awesome I'm glad he mentioned this lol
This was an awesome idea. I can definitely roll with it and it makes situations and the story more interesting. Now I’m going to rewatch it with this in my brain.
So the kid at the end dint get 100 dollars for he’s short.
you got a bone stickin out your arm mister
Well, it was for the shirt so, no, he didn't get $100 for his short.
@@michael-1453 look at that fucking bone...
Matt Marzula well mister I’ll give you my shirt
Hey Bro there is a Russian youtuber who have stolen your Idea. And makes a video shot by shot exacly like yours but in russian. The chanel name is ЧБУ
Up
there is one Russian channel that copied your video and it got even more views than yours in general, he copies English-language videos translates into his language and puts them up for their channel name ЧБУ I want to stop it, it's just not fair everyone who reads this, go to his channel, throw a report
@@amo5824 как же оно так вдохновлено, если оно слово-в-слово повторяет факты из данного ролика? Даже кадры из фильма взяты те же. И называет он свои теории именно "своими", а не "вдохновленными вот этим иностранным ютубером".
ЧБУ вор и предатель, потому что я тоже верил, что у него авторский контент, над которым он работает сам. А оказалось, что он переводит английские видео.
Вот ссылка на разоблачение: ua-cam.com/video/vU72FcJTWEU/v-deo.html
@@amo5824 а ничего что до выхода видео "ЧБУ - вор" их не было?
@@marinovich2775ты шутишь, какой слово в слово чел ты кринж. Удали пж не позорься
I think the similarities between Anton and Llewellyn are there just to make them comparable opponents. I thought it was possible watching for the first time that Llewellyn might end up killing Anton. Them and Carson are all very crafty
The book has just enough detail to make things clearer. I highly recommend reading it.
Check out the movie “upgrade”. Seemed like they gave the viewer 2 endings to choose which one they believed. I feel like it would be a interesting video breakdown of all the clues they leave throughout the movie.
People get sassy on here with replies lmao calm down people.
It's not what he believes it's a theory to make people think. Sometimes people just can't sit back and enjoy how much research and thought went behind this video. Besides a movie like this can be interpreted in any way a person wants. I think his theories are great. Do I agree? No not all the time. I do appreciate when someone makes me think about something in a new light. Gets the ole brain pumping.
The book is based on Bell’s commentary on the worsen world. Bell never met Chigurh in person. Just knew that there r horrible crimes all over the places. But he never concluded that it was done by the same perpetrator. Perhaps he personify these crimes as one brutal killer, could be Moss or other killer(s). Very interesting review, the movie n book r simply amazing.
I would like to issue you a challenge: read the book.
Accepted.
I've read "The Road", but I never went looking for his other books.
Can you just fill me in about what’s different? Please?
@@slowermindskeepright1788 The irony inherent in that request, given your chosen user name, is astounding.
Christopher Roxby big bad liburl doesn’t want to read a book. Fuck off you inbread swine.
@@slowermindskeepright1788 Funny. Apparently you can't spell, either.
This reminds me of the hospitaller knight in Kingdom of Heaven, there's a theory that he doesn't exist either and is either God or an angel speaking to Balian, who is in fact the only character to ever interact with the knight