"There are no clean getaways."
No Country for Old Men - Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?
— Anton Chigurh
Context:
Chigurh says this to a nervous gas station proprietor after the man makes a casual remark about the time. Chigurh takes offense and forces the man to call a coin toss, with his life implicitly on the line. The scene is a masterclass in building tension through dialogue, establishing Chigurh's terrifying and unpredictable nature.
Meaning:
This question is not about money; it's a philosophical inquiry into fate and consequence disguised as a simple query. Chigurh uses it to assert his power and introduce his twisted game of chance. The quote encapsulates his worldview: that lives and fortunes are subject to random, inescapable events, and he is merely the facilitator of that reckoning.
You can't stop what's coming. It ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity.
— Ellis
Context:
Sheriff Bell visits his elderly uncle, Ellis, a former lawman, to discuss his intention to retire because he feels "overmatched." Ellis delivers this piece of wisdom to comfort and correct Bell, putting his personal struggle into a much larger, historical context of violence and change that has always existed.
Meaning:
This line, spoken to Sheriff Bell, is the core thesis of the film. It speaks to the themes of fate and the inability of one person, no matter how principled, to hold back the tide of change and violence. It dismisses Bell's feeling of personal failure as a form of arrogance—the belief that he alone should be able to impose order on a chaotic world. It's a statement about acceptance in the face of inevitability.
If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?
— Anton Chigurh
Context:
Chigurh has tracked down and cornered Carson Wells in his hotel room. Wells attempts to bargain for his life, operating under the assumption that they are both professionals who can make a deal. Chigurh dismisses this and poses this question before killing him, highlighting the difference between Wells's pragmatic professionalism and his own elemental, uncompromising nature.
Meaning:
This chilling question is posed by Chigurh to Carson Wells right before killing him. It challenges the very foundation of societal and personal codes of conduct. Chigurh implies that any set of rules or principles is ultimately useless if it leads to one's own demise. It reflects his nihilistic belief that only outcomes matter, and the principles that guide one to a fatal outcome are meaningless.
And then I woke up.
— Sheriff Ed Tom Bell
Context:
Sitting at his kitchen table in retirement, Sheriff Bell describes two dreams he had to his wife. After detailing the second dream where his father carries fire ahead of him into the darkness, he ends his monologue, and the entire film, with this simple, profound sentence.
Meaning:
This is the final line of the film, and it is laden with ambiguity. It concludes Bell's recounting of his second, more hopeful dream about his father. The line can be interpreted in several ways: as a simple return to the bleak reality after a comforting dream, as a questioning of whether hope itself is just an illusion, or as a final acceptance of his place in the waking world, however harsh it may be. It leaves the audience in a state of quiet contemplation about hope and reality.