No Country for Old Men
Movie, 2007, The 2000s, Set in West Texas, 1980
No Country for Old Men is #12 of 21 in release order and #12 of 21 in chronological order in the The Coen Brothers.
The story
Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.
No Country for Old Men recap
In West Texas in 1980, the welder and Vietnam veteran Llewelyn Moss finds the scene of a drug deal gone wrong, a pickup full of dead men, and two million dollars, which he takes. He comes back at night with water for a dying man and is chased off by the cartel, who identify his truck. He sends his wife Carla Jean to her mother's. The killer Anton Chigurh, who flips coins to decide who lives, is hired to find the money and tracks Moss through a transponder in the case. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, near retirement, follows a trail of bodies. Carson Wells, a hired man sent to recover the cash, offers Moss protection and is killed by Chigurh. Moss is wounded in a gunfight and hides in Mexico, then arranges to meet Carla Jean in El Paso. It is the Coens' twelfth feature, adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel, and won them the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
No Country for Old Men ending explained
Moss is killed offscreen, Chigurh walks away from a car crash, and Bell retires. Mexicans kill Moss at a motel before Bell gets there. Chigurh comes back that night for the money. After her mother's funeral, Carla Jean finds Chigurh waiting, refuses to call his coin toss, and is implied to be killed. Driving away, Chigurh is hit by a car, breaks his arm, buys a boy's shirt for a sling, and limps off. Bell, retired, tells his wife about two dreams of his late father.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men is streaming on fuboTV, Paramount+, Peacock, Kanopy, and YouTube (free) in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes 93%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Ladykillers, before Burn After Reading.
- Chronological order: after The Ladykillers, before Burn After Reading.
Cast
- Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh
- Tommy Lee Jones as Ed Tom Bell
- Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss
- Woody Harrelson as Carson Wells
- Kelly Macdonald as Carla Jean Moss
- Garret Dillahunt as Wendell
- Tess Harper as Loretta Bell
- Barry Corbin as Ellis
- Stephen Root as Man Who Hires Wells
- Rodger Boyce as El Paso Sheriff
- Beth Grant as Carla Jean's Mother
- Ana Reeder as Poolside Woman
Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen.