Can someone explain the ending of 'No country for old men' to me?!
Question: Let's say from the last shoot-out with the Mexicans at the motel in El Paso...
Answers: Let's say from the last shoot-out with the Mexicans at the motel in El Paso...
Well, obviously the previous really covered the details! As a viewer, however, I did not think that the coin by the vent in the room where Moss was killed implied that Chigurh had found the money. I took it to mean he looked for the money in the same hiding place Moss had previously used, but it wasn't there. (Much like Fargo, I imagine Moss hid the money and was killed before telling anyone, so it'll never be found.) I think if Chigurh had the money he would not have gone after Carla Jean.
But in the grander sense - it's about death. Chigurh, ruthless, implacable and unstoppable as he is, is basically the Grim Reaper. He doesn't care who he kills. His decisions seem arbitrary. He gets everyone he sets out to kill. Bell is the force of life, of good, of trying to make a difference. His dream is about that - about following his father, as he had into law enforcement, and he will one day into death - and about taking what comfort you can in the great darkness that lays beyond...
Carla Jean gets her mother Agnes (Beth Grant), who’s dying of cancer, into a cab and they head off towards the bus station. Agnes is all upset because they’re going to El Paso for no reason, and she doesn’t even know anyone in El Paso. Some Mexicans are stalking them, and when they get to the bus station they keep their distance. Carla Jean goes inside the station to get their tickets while one of the Mexicans walks over to Agnes. He acts like a nice guy and offers to help with her luggage. Through his actions, he finds out where they’re going and where they’re planning to stay. Moss calls Carla Jean while she’s in the bus station. She’s worried about him, and she tells him about Bell’s visit. Moss tells her that once they meet up in El Paso, he’s going to put her on a plane with the money. He figures that Chigurh won’t do anything to him, since he won’t have the money and will be the only person to know where it is. Carla Jean also calls Bell and tells him that Moss will meet them in El Paso. Somewhere along here Chigurh blasts off another lock to a door and walks down a hallway. He opens another door and walks into the office of the man that hired Wells. Chigurh shoots him in the neck and watches as he gurgles on his own blood. A scared accountant is there also, and Chigurh tells him that there was no reason to hire other people to retrieve the money, since he was enough to handle the job. The accountant says that the man hired multiple people to increase their odds of getting the money back. The man dies, and the accountant asks Chigurh if he’s going to shoot him. Chigurh replies “That depends. Do you see me?” It’s unknown whether he kills the accountant or not.
Moss goes to a motel in El Paso. A woman at the pool asks him if he wants to have some drinks with her. Moss tells her that he’s married, and that he knows where the beer will lead them. She still tries to get him to drink with her, and he smiles. A little while later, Bell is driving to the motel when he hears a lot of gunfire. He sees some Mexicans get into a truck and speed away. Bell parks his car and gets out his pistol. The poolside woman has been killed and her corpse is in the pool. On the ground is a wounded Mexican, who’s been shot in the chest and is trying to crawl away. Bell walks into an open motel room and finds the corpse of Llewelyn Moss on the floor. He has been shot in the chest and killed in the shootout. By nightfall, Carla Jean and Agnes arrive at the motel. Bell approaches Carla Jean and she learns about Moss being dead. Bell looks at Moss’ body in the morgue, and a police officer tells him that he’s sorry they couldn’t save Moss. After having a chat with the police officer, Bell drives back to the motel. He approaches the door, and then notices that the lock has been blasted off. He gets out his pistol and approaches. Chigurh hides on the other side of the door, shotgun in hand. They both stand by the door, and it seems as though they both know who’s on the other side. Bell enters the room and searches everywhere but behind the door. Bell sees that the air vent has been unscrewed by a coin, implying that Chigurh wound up with the money.
Bell goes and visits one of his uncles, who is wheelchair bound and has numerous cats living with him. Bell pours them some coffee, but finds that his uncle only makes it fresh once a week. The uncle tells him that he’s learned about Bell retiring from the police force. Bell says that he feels overpowered, and is incapable of keeping up with the times. Elsewhere, Agnes dies of her cancer, and Carla Jean attends her funeral. Afterwards, she goes back to her home and sits down at the table. She then notices that a window is open. Carla Jean walks into the bedroom and finds Chigurh waiting for her in the corner. She says that she doesn’t have the money, and she just buried her two loved ones. Chigurh doesn’t care though, and flips a coin. He tells her to call it, but she refuses. He tells her to choose her fate, but she says that it’s really him who’s going to decide whether she lives or not. A little later, Chigurh leaves the house and makes sure there’s no blood on his boots (he killed Carla Jean). He gets in a car and drives down a street. He passes by two boys on bicycles, and drives through an intersection when he’s suddenly crashed into from the side by another driver. Chigurh stumbles outside and rests by the curb. His head is bleeding, an eye vessel popped, and he’s got a bone sticking out of his arm. The bicycle boys catch up and are shocked at how bad Chigurh looks. He hears sirens in the distance, and offers one of the boys a hundred dollar bill for his shirt. The kid takes the money and gives him the shirt, which he uses as a sling for his arm. Chigurh tells the kids to tell the police that he was already gone when they got there, and then he walks off.
Bell is now retired, and doesn’t know what to do with himself. The film ends with Bell telling Loretta about a dream he had the previous night about his father.