My question is this: What exactly, is Anton Chigurh after? I mean, I know he's looking for the money, but, does he want the money for himself, or is he trying to get the money for his boss? Also, how does Carson Wells know Anton Chigurh? I mean, they are both assassins, right? Are they both former spec ops guys or something? I have only seen the movie, not read the book. (I am SO BLOWN AWAY by this film-I LOVE it) Let me know what you all think. Thx
shareThe film has many layers and can certainly be interpreted differently depending on the individual. I will give my thoughts, and while you may not agree with them, perhaps they will open more doors for you to explore and discover.
The three main characters in the film represent three different paradigms—Bell represents the past, Moss the present, and Chigurh the future. Moss and Chigurh never see one another, and while they stand off, they are never shown in the same frame. This extends to all of the main trio of characters. With Bell, we see him entering the apartment where Chigurh is shown, yet upon entry, does not see him. The reason is because the characters, symbolically, exist in different timelines; they each represent a shibboleth or different era.
Keeping in line with this thought, it makes sense why Anton's motivations are not entirely certain. He is the character of the future—hyperrational and maximally efficient. In a Nietzschean sense, he is the ubermensch, driven not by emotion or morality, but by something unknown. He is above the current iteration of man, and so for the modern (Moss) and premodern (Bell) individual, is an enigma (unseen).
I added on to it-so please, feel free to comment more. Thanks for responding so soon.
shareWhile these are interesting questions, the novel does not provide answers. The only thing that is really known is that Wells was a Vietnam war veteran and worked either alongside, or adjacent to, Chigurh. There is a telling moment when Chigurh sits down and drinks milk, staring at the television. This scene is later contrasted with Bell doing the same. This reifies the notion that while the characters seemingly exist in the same world, their different symbolic representations run parallel to one another, never intersecting.
shareMoss and Chigurh did see each other during the gunfight on the street.
This is an interesting observation, because although Moss and Chigurh have seen each other, we never see Moss and Chigurh in the same frame. They are always shown independently. Even during the window jumping scene and shoot-out, Moss is always out of the frame when we see Chigurh, and vice-versa.
Similarly, in the scene where Bell discovers Moss dead, we see Moss's body, followed by a cutaway shot with only Bell looking into the camera, then only Moss again.
There is a similar occurrence in the film Heat (1995) with Pacino and De Niro.
Chigurh is hired to get the money back to some dude.
i think that's what it was, just a gig for him
Chigurh does want the money, but he is a psychopath.
"I got here the same way the coin did" is a telling comment.
Chigurh considers himself a agent of fate, fates hand if you will...life is random and encountering him could lead to death. That is his bizarre philosophy of life that he believes in and it make himself special. Killing people for a living can create weird psychological defenses. Chigurh's defense absolves him from any personal responsibility for his actions. He so truly believes in this "random hand of fate" thing that he has become detached from reality.
The randomness of the ending shows the viewer that even a guy who considered himself fates helper is not immune to fate itself.
Just after the money, I think just cause that’s what he was hired to do.
shareTHe accountant the Wells met hired sugar to get the money back
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