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Just watched No Country for Old Man. Don't understand the ending part.

posted 4 years ago by RexLiew (14)
4 replies | jump to latest

While Anton was driving his car after killing Moss' wife, he got hit by a running car. And then he hobbled away from the crash scene. The next shot was Sheriff Ed Tom Bell had a little chitchat with his wife. The dialogue had nothing to do with the case he's on, instead he's talking about his dreams, with his father in it. I couldn't relate it to anything that happened in the film. What does it mean? What is Coen Brothers trying to tell us? And why is it called No Country for Old Man? Anton is not old. He's in his 40s or so. That leaves to the Sheriff Ed. But does it make sense?

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20450) 4 years ago

The sheriff is the old man and as the conversation with his buddy explains: things aren’t worse in the country now. There have always been evil men doing evil things and getting away with it.

[–] RexLiew (14) 4 years ago

Yep. Just finished reading a review of the movie. Sheriff always interpreted the world the way he thought it was, not exactly what it actually was. Kinda surprised that Sheriff in fact was the main leading role.

[–] mikethemartian (6071) 4 years ago

That is one of my favorite movie endings. The title comes from a poem

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43291/sailing-to-byzantium

The Sheriff is actually the main character and as his friend tells him the world isn’t any more vicious than it was before but because he is older and more worn out he perceives it that way. I believe the dream he relates st the end is about him coming to near the end of his life and eventually dying. He mentions his dead father leading him through the pass which I take as death. The fire (in the horn) apparently appears as symbolism in many of Cormac McCarty’s stories.

[–] RexLiew (14) 4 years ago

There are two dreams. The first one is about the money. Sheriff said in the end he lost the money his father gave him. And whoever involved with 2m dollars either dead or injured or morally empty. So that means Sheriff wasn't controlled by his greedy on money. He led a good life which witnessed his retirement. The second dream is more complicated. But I don't think it's related to death. Death is not what his second dream is about. "Carrying fire in a horn" means it's a primitive way of starting fires by carrying embers from one campsite to the next so there's no need to take flint or a match. The cold, mountainous path represents his current life, full of moral uncertainty and darkness. By carrying this fire forward, he thinks somehow this will enable a return to that simpler good his father represents(the beginning part about his father not wearing a gun). But deep down in his mind, he knows what he desire will never come true.