No Country for Old Men Scene 39 Summary

  • Sheriff Bell stands over Moss's body at the morgue. After a moment, he puts his hat back on and heads outside. A man in a cowboy hat is waiting for him. He offers to buy Bell a cup of coffee before he drives home.
  • Bell and the other man sit down at a diner, where the man mentions that there was no case of money found in Moss's room. He muses about how sad it is that all of West Texas is caught up in money and drugs and violence. What does it all mean??
  • The man takes the opportunity to talk about how society in general is falling apart. He doesn't like how the kids these days have green hair and are wearing bones through their noses. Okay, so now he's kind of turning into an old crank.
  • While walking Bell back to his car, the other man mentions that none of the stuff they're talking about can explain a guy like Anton Chigurh. That dude isn't a product of his time, but just a pure psycho.
  • Bell says he's not sure he'd call Chigurh a lunatic but maybe more like a ghost.
  • The other man says that Chigurh is all too real. He mentions the story of the Eagle Hotel, where Chigurh killed a desk clerk one night and a retired army colonel (Carson Wells) the next night. The man doesn't know how you're supposed to defend yourself against someone like Chigurh.
  • The man finally wishes Sheriff Bell good luck and apologizes for not being able to help Moss sooner.