No Country for Old Men

Still scene from coin flip scene, courtesy of Patrick Crook

            The film, No Country for Old Men directed by the Coen brothers, raises a lot of unique and disturbing twists to a story about a drug ring and a serial killer who is merely unstoppable.  There are many scenes throughout the film that are important to the film’s theme.  However, there was one scene in particular that really stuck out to me. 

Chapter 4 of the movie titled “Call It, Friend-O” was very important to setting up the rest of the movie.  This is towards the beginning of the film after the audience has already gathered the main direction of where the movie is progressing.  At scene four it is still a little unclear of how this creepy man with an oxygen tank named Anton Chigurh relates to the plot.  It is truly at chapter four where his motives and capabilities are revealed.  In this scene he stops to get gas at a gas station.  He begins to make small talk with the old man running the convenience store.  He proceeds to question his life asking him where he sleeps at night, what time he goes to bed, and other questions prying into his personal life.  Chigurh’s true personality is revealed as he is shown mentally manipulating someone. He also asks the man to flip a coin and guess heads or tails. Because the old man guessed the correct side, he was saved from death. It is after he nonchalantly walks out of the store that his streak of uncontrollable behavior is shown. I believe that this chapter was very important to the movie by setting up Chigurh’s personality to lead you into his plans for the rest of the movie.  Without it, it would be blurred as to how important his manipulative personality is to his character and the plot itself.