The document analyzes the film 'No Country for Old Men,' focusing on the main characters Anton Chigurh, Llewelyn Moss, and Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, and the role of fate as influenced by instruments such as money and guns. It argues that while Chigurh and Moss are driven by their desires for money and power, the consequences of their actions ultimately lead to their downfalls, revealing human fragility. The analysis also highlights broader themes of American society, particularly the illusions of control and the impact of violence and greed.

1. Student 1
Student
Professor
ENG 108
27 June 2014
Instruments of Fate in No Country for Old Men
In this movie, No Country for old men, there are three main
characters. Anton Chigurh of a killer, Llewelyn Moss of a
welder and Vietnam veteran, and Ed Tom Bell of a soon-to-
retire country sheriff. Each of the three men has the fate of their
lives. Especially, some instruments in this movie play very
important roles to decide the fates of Chigurh and Moss. In this
movie, Chigurh and Moss are the completely different
characters. While Chigurh is a cold-blooded and kills many
people, Moss is a typical Amarican who is a Vietnam veteran,
has wife, and fearless man. The only common thing between
Chigurh and Moss is that money and gun strongly affect both of
their lives and fates. Both of them try to get something they
want by using guns, but finally the desires leads them to deaths.
In this movie, money plays an important role as a tool for
Chigurh to do coin toss. He uses this tool, or coin when he
makes his actions and decisions. He often says, “Call it” to
people and bets whether he kills them or not by the result of his
coin tosses. For example, he says, “Call it” when he goes to a
store and talks to an old man. Fortunately, the man wins and is
not killed by Chigurh. This action, coin toss, shows us
Chigurh’s power, which can control other people’s fates easily
without any coherent reasons. We can also say that the coin toss
is the way to escape the responsibility to kill people.
The last time that he says “Call it” to someone is when he meets
Moss’s wife, Carla Jean. Jean finds that Chigurh is sitting down
on the chair on the corner of a bedroom. Although everyone is
afraid of him and said which side of the coin, Jean denies
calling the coin. Instead of calling the result of coin toss; she

2. criticizes Chigurh’s actions. She says, “The coin don't have no
say. It's just you”(Coen). She argues that he chooses his
decisions, not by coin, but by himself. She wants to say that a
coin does not have any power to change him. In this scene,
many audiences may have the questions about Chigurh. For
example, “why did he start to kill people? ”, “does he have any
purpose to kill people?” and so on. Thinking the reason why he
is doing coin toss, we feel that Chigurh is actually lonely and
normal person who want to rely on something. It seems Chigurh
is not like a usual human beings because of his behavior,
looking, and talking way. However, he actually very looks like
a modern people, especially Americans who are isolated rather
than independent. American people are becoming to do many
things by themselves because of the high technologies such as
the Internet, and iPhones. Nowadays, people can find any
solutions by searching the information on the Internet.
Moreover phones can even hear people’s voice and answer their
questions. The coin is like an iPhone for Chigurh, who does not
have any relationship with others and want to rely on
something.
Although he decides his decision by coin toss and takes many
people’s lives suddenly, he also gets the car accident from
someone. When he is driving his car in a quiet residential area,
someone suddenly crashes into his car. This crash makes his
stance from a killer to a victim. It seems he controls everyone
by his gas pistol. However, he cannot even expect this accident
and avoid the serious injure. This accident shows that he is also
a normal human being like people who were killed by him. This
is a very sarcastic ending for him. He controlled many things by
killing people indiscrimination. However his life as a killer
became very week after the car accident because he cannot
bring the gas pistol until he can cure his bone. The coin was the
instrument, which decides Chigurh’s fate and random people’s
fates for him. However, even he cannot against to an accident.
Another instrument, which changes Moss’s life is money. While
money is a tool for Chigurh to make his future, it makes Moss’s

3. life worse by having a desire to get a huge amount of money. In
other words, Moss is under control of money. Before Moss
found the money, he was a typical Western style American man.
Moss went to Vietnam War, has a wife, is a welder, and has his
gun. In other word, he is a typical Western middle class man of
middle age who is not intelligent so much but has bravery and
power. His action after finding the scene, which many Mexican
men and dogs were killed, shows how he is brave and
understand the situation. However, when he finds the money, he
gets a desire of gaining the money and loses the good judgment.
If he had a cool judgment at this moment, he would not bring
the money to his home because he might be able to expect that
it is dangerous to steal the money from the murder scene. He
even sends his wife to Odessa where her mother lives and keeps
running away by himself. It is true that he is originally the
person, who does not think so much about the things before he
makes his action. He thinks the money he found is luck and can
help his life. He says, “Well I got a good one.” and “Not any
more, Carla Jean. You're retired” (Coen). He thinks their lives
can be better if he has the money. However, it is obvious that
the money makes him to get involve in the tragedy and crime.
There is another scene, which shows money can affect people
badly. After Chigurh got an injury, two young boys run up to
him and offer to help him. They were seriously worrying about
Chigurh’s arm, which his bone is some out. When Chigurh
asked a boy to pass his shirt, he gave his shirt kindly. The boy
even hesitates receiving one hundred dollar from Chigurh at
first. The boy says, “Hell mister, I don't mind helpin' somebody
out. That's a lot of money”(Coen). Although the boys looked
very pure and kind, they started to argue over the distribution of
the money after getting the money. This scene obviously shows
us that money change people. Money provokes people’s desire
to get money more and more, and fight with others.
While Chigurh controls his future and others by using the coin
as a tool, Moss’s future is messed up by having a desire to get
more money. Money plays different roles for Chigurh and Moss.

4. However, the common point for them about money is that
money is a very important part of their destinies. For Moss and
Chigurh, money does not make their happy lives. In addition for
them, the children who got money from Chigurh became
unhappy relationship by having money.
Another instrument, which has the important meaning in this
movie, is weapons, especially “gun.” “Gun” changes people’s
emotions, actions, and even their destinies. For example, the gas
pistol makes Chigurh from a normal human being to a brutal
killer. Because he has the very strong gun pistol, he thinks he
has the invincible power, which he can control and kill whoever
he wants. His action is definitely made by his gas pistol. If he
did not have the air shot gun, he would not feel that he is so
strong and do many of his unreasonable murder. Furthermore,
his coin toss is also came from the weapon. Because he has the
gun, he has the freedom of choosing his and other people’s
futures. The “gun” not only kills people, but also makes
Chigurh’s, coin toss, which greatly affects his destiny.
A “gun” makes Moss feels as if he is very strong and can deal
with anything. It is true that he has enough experiences to fight
with enemies and fears because he is a Vietnam veteran.
Although he is very brave and strong, he cannot be strong
enough to fight with enemies without a gun. Using a gun for a
long time, his gun is becoming like one part of his body. Since
he has the confidence to handle his gun as he likes, he can do
any dangerous actions such as steeling a large sum of money
and keeping run away from Chigurh even after witnessing the
shocking scene that many people were killed cruelly.
At this point, the common thing between Chigurh and Moss is
that both of them use their guns very professionally as if the
guns are like themselves. Integrating themselves into the guns,
Chigurh and Moss feel that they can get over many difficult
situations. Therefore, we can say that “gun” changes people’s
consciousness. Because people have the consciousness that they
can kill someone anytime and protect themselves, guns change
their attitudes, and actions. In other words, “gun” changes

5. people from normal human being to soldiers, criminals, and
even killers.
In the three main characters, only Bell is not affected my gun so
much. It is true that gun makes Bell feel strong, For example,
the sheriff, Bell, originally does not like to use guns. However,
he walks into the room with his gun at the ready when he goes
back to the motel where Moss and many people were killed. It is
because he is not brave and strong enough to fight with
Chigurh. However: gun does not help him to change his fate so
much by comparing with Moss and Chigurh do. Bell’s fate is
determined by following something. For example, he followed
his father and grandfather’s in terms of his job of sheriff. In
addition, he always follows Chigurh after he left.
Money and guns change people’s destinies to either good or not.
If people use money as a tool to make their lives better, they
can be happy. If people use gun to hunt animals, and protect
themselves, gun can be a good tool. However, money and
weapons are inseparable relationship each other in terms of bad
things such as fights, crimes, and wars. Because many people
believe that they can do many things with money, they try to get
more money. However, money is keep moving and not staying
in the same place. Pursuing money, people increase their desires
and start fights. On the other hand, guns unify with people and
give them the feeling that they are strong. As a result of the
feelings, they act bravely and violently, and start fighting.
People even think they can take people’s lives, money, and
everything under their controls.
Wars in the world are a typical good example of the fight for
profit. For example, Iraq war was started by America. There
were some reasons why America started the war. However,
generally, it is said that America attacked Iraq because it
wanted to get oil. The aim to get oil is also money. It means
that oil is essential for American economy. In order to get more
petroleum, American soldiers killed many people by new and
strong weapons. America had absolute superiority power over
Iraq since it had strong weapons. Even though American and

6. Iraqi are originally same human beings, great weapons made
Americans stronger than Iraqis. If America did not have strong
weapons, it could not attack Iraq. Attacked by America, many
ordinary innocent Iraqis were killed. The common points
between the Iraq war and this movie is people who have
stronger weapons can be stronger than normal people and even
affect their destinies. Basically, Moss and Chigurh must not
have big differences as human being when they were babies.
However, they think they are strong and act very bravely by
having guns. Comparing with the movie and the Iraq war, Moss
is like the icon of American soldier, and Chigurh is like an
appearance of America from outside. When we sum up Moss
and Chigurh, it can be America. It means, gun and money
represent America.
In conclusion, this movie, No Country for Old Men, shows us
the foolishness and vainness of human being. They are always
seized and controlled by instruments what they made in order to
organize and control people. Moss shows the foolishness: it is
that he has a fantasy that money can help him and his wife to
dream come true, and handle anything when he has a gun.
Chigurh shows us his vainness: it is that even he, who decides
things by coin toss and controls everything around him by his
gas pistol, gets the fatal injury by the car accident. If Moss and
Chigurh did not get money or guns, they might have ordinary
lives. At the same time, these tools such as money and guns
actually do not have any power at all to change their lives. The
decision to use the tools and the way to use them decide their
fates.
Work Cited
No Country for old men. Screenplay. Joel Coen & Ethan Coen.

7. 20 March, 2006. White Production. Film.
Hunting for Men and Meaning in No Country for Old Men
I. Literal hunting: animals and men
II. Figurative hunting: for meaning
III. A. Sheriff
B. Chigurh
C. Llewelyn?
IV. The movie’s meaning
Tools of Fate in No Country for Old Men
I. Many tools used in the movie
A. Air gun: for animals
B. Transponder: no escape (from death)
C. Trucks and horses
II. Money is a tool
A. Pay people to do things
B. The difference between rich and poor
III. Chigurh thinks of himself as a tool
IV. The movie’s tools (including Chigurh)
The American Scene in No Country for Old Men
I. The Land: empty, no witnesses
II. The (Lack of) Homes
A. The Road
B. Motels
III. The People: Americans
IV. Non-America
A. Mexico
B. Vietnam
C. “Indian” land
V. The title: No Country for Old Men; “this country is hard on

8. people”
Generations (Degeneration) in No Country for Old Men
I. The old timers
II. The sheriff’s generation
III. Llewelyn’s generation
IV. The under-twenty generation
V. The title: No Country for OLD Men
Self and Other in No Country for Old Men
I. The self is male: seeing through their eyes
II. The other is female
A. Carla Jean
1. Kept in the dark by Llewelyn
2. Finds truth in the end
B. Sheriff’s wife, Carla Jean’s mom, woman by the pool
III. Non-Americans
A. The Mexicans
B. Vietnam
C. Indians
IV. The title: No Country for Old MEN