How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from No Country for Old Men.
Quote #1
"You know what date is on this coin? […] 1958. It's been traveling 22 years to get here. And now it's here. And it's either heads or tails."
If we were going just on rhetorical prowess, we'd have to side with Anton Chigurh about the role of fate. He sure does have a poetic way of talking as though fate plays a big role in human lives, like when he tells the gas station clerk that the coin he's flipped has traveled 22 years to this specific moment to decide whether this man will live or die. But pretty words can be deceptive. Let's be honest: the coin has nothing to do with it. The killing is all on Chigurh.
Quote #2
"You stand to win everything. Call it."
When the gas station clerk asks what he stands to win from the coin toss, Chigurh answers "everything." In other words, the clerk will win the right to continue existing, which is everything. If he loses, Chigurh will whip out that nifty steer-killer and end his life for no good reason. Talk about high stakes—and pointlessness.
Quote #3
"Anywhere not in your pocket. Or it'll get mixed in with the others and become just a coin. Which it is."
Does Chigurh believes the things he says or is he just playing games? Hard to say. He seems to have this complex worldview where everything is meaningful and at the same time, nothing is. Take the coin he flipped to decide whether to spare the gas station attendant's life. One the one hand, he says, it's super special. On the other hand, he admits that it's just a coin like any other. We may not know if fate or free will is guiding Chigurh's actions, but we do know one thing: players gonna play.