Reply #12: My first 13 questions SPOILERS DISCUSSED [View All]

[Blue_Tires]

Well this is what has been keeping me up since last night…Granted, sometimes I have a problem of ‘over-thinking’ certain movies…These questions are not just for you; they are for anyone who wants to take a crack…

1. First of all, why would an efficient and methodical assassin use something as impractical as an air gun and a shottie with a can (a shotgun he never seems to cycle in the heat of battle, btw)?? Are the conventional tools of pistols, SMGs, and kicking down doors too mundane? Does the use of an air gun make it a more ‘artsy’ film?

2. In the scene after the final shootout when Sheriff Bell returns to a dark, empty hotel room for a final look, why did Anton NOT kill Sheriff Bell when he was hiding behind the door?

3. The scene when Woody Harrelson is talking to Josh Brolin by the hospital bed, and Brolin told him he was a retired welder; was there supposed to be some kind of code in that exchange? And who retires from a blue-collar job in their mid-30s? I also know most welders use pressurized gas – was that supposed to be some allusion to Anton carrying around the gas canister all the time?

4. What DID happen at the final shootout? And why would the Coens not show it, when they had show so many other people dying in gruesome and humiliating ways? And as an aside, WHY did Sheriff Bell, when driving upon the very end of the shootout, NOT actually do his job and chase the perps?

5. Why is Sheriff Bell so indifferent about trying to bring any resolution to this case?

6. What was the deal with the car crash in the end? What was that supposed to signify?

7. Upon taking the money, why didn’t Brolin simply flee with his wife (i.e. somewhere much farther away than the reaches of west Tejas) and out of all the guns lying around, why take the one from the guy in the truck??

8. Who were the two management that Anton killed in the dark, and why? Were they DEA or crime bosses? Were there ever any undercovers in this movie, or does that simply not matter?

9. Who was on what side? Was it Mexicans vs. Mexicans, or vs Americans, or just shit criminal vs. shit criminal…At least as I understand it, on one side was everyone else from some criminal organization trying to get the cash, and on a rival side by himself was Anton... Is that a correct assumption?

10. And WHO hired Anton in the first place? Was it the Stephen Root character? And was Stephen Root law enforcement or a crime boss? And what does Woody Harrelson do and what was he hired for in the first place? He said he met Anton before—what was that about? Finally, why does Anton kill them both??

11. Not only that, but when caught by Anton, why does Woody Harrelson not run or fight or whatever, knowing he is facing certain death?

12. Back to my original question, what does this movie try to tell us? That good/bad is meaningless and all that ever matters is life and death? Let’s be honest; this was never a drug/crime/whatever movie; I think it has to be a huge allegory of some sort, but I’m thinking the message has to be different other than death…Is Anton Satan? The angel of death? The movie shows all his victims as harmless lambs (everyone killed is either unarmed, caught by surprise, or both), and the fact that he uses a tool for bovine slaughter as a weapon has to say something…
And what was with the coin toss and the faulty, bullshit nihilist pseudo-philosophizing? And I now know this film is really supposed to be about Tommy Lee Jones; why does his character have ZERO profundity for all the screen time he spent in introspective mode? The whole “have I lived a good, meaningful life, and what is waiting for me after death” thoughts are not exactly new…Part of me thinks the author and the Coens are fucking with us…

13. And finally, WHO was Anton? Former KGB? Green Beret? Stasi? Mossad? Just straight-up evil? You don’t just learn those sadistic lethal arts (and the ability to treat and patch yourself up) from anywhere, and the Coens deliberately tell us nothing about his past, adding more fuel to the Angel of Death idea…One of the most frustrating things is Anton’s emotionless style…I can understand this that much better if he were an avenging angel, someone who hated humanity, or someone who got thrills by killing—But he is intentionally left as a blank slate for a reason…One thing I don’t get is WHO hired him (if anyone), and why? If I’m a crime boss who wants back $2 mil, I would like to hire somebody who is discreet and works quietly, not someone who leaves a trail of 20 bodies (most killed with the same ammo) in a one-week span...and as an aside, at what point would the FBI started getting involved in looking into all these strange murders?
If Anton is evil personified (imo, this character is much more at home as a James Bond villain rather than a true ‘film’), WHY in the name of hell would he work for/take orders from anyone??

These are just a few of what will probably be many more questions to come…