Overview
The opening sequence of No Country For Old Men establishes the film’s setting and three main characters, beginning with a narrated monologue by Sheriff Ed Tom Bell which accompanies a series of bleak stills of Texas. We are then introduced to Anton Chigurh, who brutally murders a policeman with a pair of handcuffs in his first scene. Afterwards, we follow Llewelyn Moss, a man who stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong – finding a brief case containing $2 million. The sequence serves to establish the bleak, nihilistic tone that pervades the film, introducing the viewer to the gritty world inhabited by the characters. Viewing the sequence through the lens of a nihilistic ideological approach, the opening sequence could be considered a commentary on the futility of human existence.
Ideological Analysis: Nihilism
The opening sequence begins with a series of bleak yet breathtaking aerial wide shots of the landscape of West Texas. These barren shots serve to establish the inexplicability and meaninglessness of humanity. The absence of human activity and the desolation of the terrain reinforce the film’s nihilistic worldview. The landscape is stark and unforgiving, with no signs of life or hope. This imagery suggests that the world is a cold and indifferent place, where human existence is inconsequential.
The shots are accompanied by a monologue narrated by Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, in which he reminisces upon the senseless crimes that he has dealt with throughout his career, reflecting upon the violence that permeates the world. He notes that a man who killed a 14-year-old girl told him that “there wasn’t any passion to it” and that “he’d do it again” if they let him out. This serves to reinforce the nihilism towards human existence that dominates the conscience of the region. The sheriff’s disillusionment towards his own traditional beliefs reflects the broader disillusionment of society towards the status quo.
“I was Sheriff of this county when I was 25 years old. Hard to believe. My grandfather was a lawman, father too. Me and him was sheriffs at the same time, him up in Plano and me out here. I think he’s pretty proud of that. I know I was. Some of the old time Sheriffs never even wore a gun. A lotta folks find that hard to believe. Jim Scarborough never carried one. That’s the younger Jim. Gaston Borkins wouldn’t wear one up in Comanche County. I always liked to hear about the old-timers. Never missed a chance to do so. You can’t help but compare yourself against the old-timers. Can’t help but wonder how they’d have operated in these times. There was this boy I sent to the electric chair at Huntsville here awhile back, my arrest and my testimony. He killed a 14 year-old girl. Papers said it was a crime of passion but he told me there wasn’t any passion to it. Told me that he’d been plannin’ to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember. Said that if they turned him out, he’d do it again. Said he knew he was going to hell, be there in about fifteen minutes. I don’t know what to make of that. I surely don’t. The crime you see now, it’s hard to even take its measure. It’s not that I’m afraid of it. I always knew you had to be willin’ to die to even do this job. but I don’t want to push my chips forward and go out and meet somethin’ I don’t understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He’d have to say: ‘Okay, I’ll be part of this world.’”
Sheriff Ed Tom Bell’s opening monologue
Afterwards, we are introduced to the character of Anton Chigurh – a ruthless hitman – who has just been arrested. A series of birds-eye-view and mid closeups display Anton mercilessly strangling the policeman that arrested him with a pair of handcuffs. This display of graphic violence reinforces Anton’s disregard towards human existence, also acting in stark juxtaposition to the pensive opening scene of the film. We then immediately bear witness to a second murder committed by Anton, in which he dupes a truck driver into believing he is a policeman before killing him with a highly unconventional weapon: a cattle gun, suggesting that he views humans as mere animals whose existence is futile. He displays no remorse towards extinguishing two human lives in quick succession, reinforcing his character as a symbol of nihilism.
The final portion of the opening sequence introduces us to the film’s heroic protagonist, Llewelyn Moss. These scenes are also pensive, with dialogue sparsely implemented to reinforce the barrenness of the setting. Moss is also often filmed from extreme long shots to further reinforce this.
He soon stumbles upon the drug deal gone wrong, after which he remains stoic and unfazed towards the array of dead bodies. He shows no empathy towards the dying man begging for water, implying that he has been desensitised to human suffering – a hallmark of a nihilism.
After locating the briefcase full of money, the film’s determinist chain of events are set in motion – Llewelyn’s fate is sealed from the beginning, reinforcing the nihilistic ideology that the film adheres to. Llewelyn’s choice to take the money is indicative of his disregard for traditional morals and societal norms.
Otis Morley’s A-Level Film Studies Blog 