is it really impossible to imagine Moss giving him some water he found, the Mexican feeling a little stronger, & then trying to kill Moss as a result?
Sure, I can imagine anything. That scenario seems extreme and quite unlikely, given that Moss took his gun and ammo, and the guy's likely bleeding internally and seems unable to move his body. But my analysis is really not so much about the literal action or non-action taken as it is about attitude. That's why, I think, the filmmakers gave us more than one literal refusal of help, to reinforce the callousness as the most important element to be aware of. Deep down, I think this is what really stings Moss later.
If it were me, I'd be looking over my shoulder the moment I walked into such a place.
And he does. I think it's also worth considering that he deliberately walks down into such a place. Sees it from a long way away, knows what he's seeing, and yet makes the choice to go down into the caldera. Into hell. And once there, to take the time to find out what he can about the last man, and then to go off tracking the last man. All that risk for potential material gain, and he won't even take a minute to check an adjacent truck for water, or even a mere moment to shut the door to satisfy the dying man's last requests. I think we're supposed to notice the contrast here. I think later the character does, on some level. Only when the opportunity he was preoccupied with is accomplished, and stowed - most meaningfully in the mind - and that energy subsides, does conscience rise.
because I don't believe Moss had any special obligation to the guy under those circumstances... At that point he ought to have...
But in real life, conscience, and acting on conscience, doesn't necessarily work according to that kind of abstract reasoning. It's no good saying "ought to have" because that's the intellect talking, and it's not always the most influential source. Moss's intellect knows full well what he's doing is foolish. He's also not that bright - i.e., his intellect was never that influential.
Someone else "returns" in a foolish manner: Sheriff Bell. Why go alone to the motel if you suspect this horrible killer is there? That's not rational either. Bell certainly "ought to have" called the El Paso cops first. Same with driving down to El Paso in person the first place, honouring his promise to CJ meet Moss alone -- which was so inefficient and allowed Moss to die. I'm reminded of Chigurh's absurd "promise" to Moss to kill CJ if he didn't give up the money. Three characters going in person to fufill "principles," all dummern hell, things they "ought to have" not done, and paying for it. A lot of irrational behaviour in NC.
I was answering the question of why Moss returns in person, when compassion alone could be served just as well by an anonymous call to authorities. When we first see him in bed, he's shaking his head, as if arguing. It's not a rational thought that compels him to do this thing, it's something primal, out of the subconscious, or in his terms, "dummern hell." Atonement by nature demands personal investment, giving up something (per the GSO scene), like one's personal safety, taking a significant risk, making a sacrifice. It's not the first time I've seen a movie or read a novel or article or known someone, in which a person does something really extraordinary to atone, and it turns out that they have felt guilt for other things, left unresolved. It is as if they are presented with an opportunity, and they take it. We know Moss had two tours of Vietnam. There's a lot inside him.
Moss not depicted as looking for it where it's most likely to be, still on the scene
Moss has it pretty firmly in his mind that there's a last man standing. Says "must've been one." Given that he is convinced of it, and no one's standing at the site, he starts tracking him back the way the trucks came in.
maybe because someone forgot to bring the money in the first place? Isn't that as likely as any other reason?
Moss says "I reckon I'd go out the way I came in," and he was right. The money was at the site, and the last man lugged it back the way they came in. He got as far as the trees.
Makes me wonder if Chigurh's reason doesn't have more to do with the fact that they obviously killed the guy after he survived a couple of days
I think that's it, or at least one motivation. I don't think he was planning to kill them for seeing him.
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