No Country for Old Men

Bell reveals that he never sees Carla Jean again, and that she is killed in Odessa shortly after her mother dies. He travels up to Odessa to try to identify the mysterious killer, whom he knows killed Carla Jean and so many others. But the man is a “ghost” (249), and they are unable to get any fingerprints from her house. Bell deals with the disappointment and uncertainty of knowing that this criminal is still out there by remembering his father’s philosophy: do your best and tell the truth.

Chigurh. Chigurh visits the office of the man now in charge of the company that fronted the money for the drug deal. He returns what is left of the money, which is 2.3 million dollars—after Moss’s and his own expenditures. He offers to work with the man on a permanent basis, telling him that they will work with all new people so there won’t be any more problems. The man knows who Anton Chigurh is. He is alarmed, but he tells Chigurh that they have much to talk about. Chigurh agrees to call the man in two days.

Carla Jean. In early March, Carla Jean attends her mother’s funeral. After the funeral, she returns to the house in Odessa. Anton Chigurh is sitting at the desk in her bedroom. Chigurh insists that Moss determined his wife’s death and that he has nothing to do with that decision; he is merely following through on Moss’ choice. He tells Carla Jean that he is sorry and that it’s not her fault. He forces her to call the coin toss to determine if she lives or dies. She cries and tells him that he doesn’t have to do this and that he pretends that his decision to kill her is the result of the coin toss, but really it is his choice all along. He then tells her that her fate was decided by her own actions, by her choices and that everything is decided in advance. He shoots her.

As he is driving away, a car hits him in an intersection. His arm is broken, along with some ribs, and the bones are sticking out on his arm. He buys a shirt from a teenager passing by to make a sling for his arm, paying him also for his silence. His friend doesn’t think it’s fair that his friend got money for his silence but he didn’t. The boys steal Chigurh’s pistol from the wrecked truck.

Bell. Bell arrives at his Uncle Ellis’ house. His uncle has heard from Loretta that Bell is quitting his job as sheriff. He sits with Ellis and they talk after making some coffee. Ellis is in a wheel chair, as a result of being shot in the line of duty. He was a deputy sheriff with Bell’s grandfather, Jack. The man who shot Ellis died in Angola prison. Ellis is not bitter about his injury, and he offers Bell common-sense, caring advice. Bell is particularly troubled after the recent spate of drug-related murders, and he has a confession to make from long ago in his past.

Bell doesn’t believe he deserves to be alive, since he deserted his men when they were all trapped under the rubble of a French farmhouse destroyed by a German bomb. He defended his position all day long by himself using a machine gun, but he knew that he would be overrun by the Germans that night. At nightfall, he ran away from his position toward friendly lines, leaving his men behind without knowing if they were dead or alive.

For the bravery of his solo, day-long gun battle, he received a medal he didn’t believe he deserved. He shares this shameful secret with his uncle. His uncle doesn’t believe that Bell had a choice. Bell believes that his grandfather—his role model of masculine perfection—would have stayed and died, a far better man than he. Uncle Ellis disagrees. Bell tells his uncle that he has tried to make up for what he did and that he thought that he would be able to forget, but he hasn’t been able to. His uncle again tries to reassure him, but he then asks Bell if he’s going to go home and tell Loretta what he did. Bell says he is.