No Country for Old Men Chapter IV Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Sheriff Bell thinks about his past. He won some medals in the war. He and his never had kids after a miscarriage.
  • Bell then thinks about how is wife is the most amazing person ever—it's like he's married to Meryl Streep or something—and he wonders what he did right to ever deserve her.
  • After breakfast, Sheriff Bell and Deputy Wendell go check out Llewelyn's deserted trailer.
  • It's obvious that someone has been there: the lock has been busted out.
  • Bell doesn't know where Llewelyn and Carla Jean are, but "they're in a world of trouble" (4.2.28).
  • Bell and Torbert go to check out Llewelyn's truck again… when all of a sudden, a helicopter lands and spits out a DEA agent named McIntyre.
  • McIntyre inspects the scene and the bodies.
  • Meanwhile, Chigurh has picked up a signal from a transponder. He drives toward it, firing at a bird outside his window along the way. He misses, proving he will never get a high score in Duck Hunt.
  • It's night, and Llewelyn returns to the Trail Hotel and rents another room near his other room—you know, the one he thinks someone is hiding in.
  • From the adjacent room, Llewelyn uses the tent poles and wire coat hangers to make a hook and drag his money sack through the air vents.
  • The money is still in the vent.
  • Llewelyn takes the bag and leaves.
  • As he's leaving, Chigurh arrives at the motel and enters Llewelyn's first room.
  • Sure enough, there are some Mexican drug runners inside.
  • They weren't expecting Chigurh, who shoots the bejeezus out of all of them.
  • Chigurh looks around for the money, and even thinks to check the air vent, where he sees drag marks in the dust.
  • Llewelyn relocates to the Hotel Eagle and goes to lie on his bed. He's not there long before he hears a key in the lock
  • Llewelyn gets a jump on his intruder—who is Chigurh, but Llewelyn doesn't know it—poking him with his shotgun and forcing him to drop his weapon to the floor.
  • Keeping his shotgun trained on the bandit, Llewelyn forces the man into the hallway.
  • When they reach the top of the stairs, Llewelyn breaks into a run.
  • Chigurh is already on the balcony across the street. He snipes Llewelyn from afar, hitting him in the upper arm.
  • A huge gunfight between Chigurh and the other bandits breaks out in the street, and there's blood everywhere. Llewelyn Moss fires off a couple of shots but is hit a couple of times himself.
  • Llewelyn staggers across the bridge into Mexico. On the way, he pays an American tourist for his coat in order to cover his own bloodstained clothes.
  • Then Llewelyn chucks the bag into the river.
  • Over the bridge, Llewelyn collapses onto a bench and asks the next passerby to get him a doctor.
  • It's back to Chigurh, who's been shot in the leg but still goes into the street to shoot everyone else.
  • Once everyone is dead, Chigurh gets into his vehicle to pursue Llewelyn.