For all the bloody action, No Country for Old Men is really a movie for a thinking guy or gal.
The characters aren't just pitting their wits against each other; they're also bringing different worldviews into conflict. Sheriff Bell thinks that the world is slowly descending into random violence, while Carson Wells thinks that money is the only thing worth pursuing in life. Llewellyn Moss is determined to live and die completely on his own terms, and Anton Chigurh believes that he is nothing more than an agent of chaos. Throw it all together and you've got yourself a pretty tasty philosophical salad—extra croutons.
Questions about Philosophical Viewpoints
- In your opinion, which character has the most appealing philosophical viewpoint in this movie? Why?
- Do you think Anton Chigurh is actually an agent of chaos, or is he just some crazy guy who's kidding himself?
- Could Llewellyn Moss have saved himself if he'd had a different philosophical outlook? Why or why not?
Chew on This
No Country shows us that it doesn't really matter what our philosophical viewpoints are. The big bad world will play havoc with our lives no matter how we look at it.
In No Country for Old Men, we learn that the only people who can survive in this world are the ones whose philosophical viewpoints are best adapted to it.