Blog Entry #9: The Coin Toss Scene from No Country for Old Men

In my opinion, one of the best scenes from No Country for Old Men is the coin toss scene between Anton and the gas station attendant (unnamed). Anton proved himself to be more psychologically twisted than I had originally thought. Because of Anton’s strange rationale and the surprised reaction of the attendant, it was funny to watch the interaction between the two characters-even though I felt like the attendant was about to be blown to smithereens at any moment.

The nature of the “coin toss” game (which helps Anton decide if the attendant should live or die) shows that Anton is someone who kills with no rhyme or reason. For Anton, life is a game. In this way, he acts as fate-what he believes to be the driving force of life. And of course, fate has no explanation.

Anton also tries to make the attendant feel as mentally uncomfortable as possible, before he decides whether or not to make him as physically uncomfortable as possible with his cattle gun. When the gas attendant tries to start a polite conversation, Anton acts offended and questions everything the attendant says by twisting around his words:
Attendant: “Will there by something else?”
Anton: “I don’t know, will there?”
With these mind games, Anton creates a great deal of fear in the attendant without even showing his weapon.

I felt like Anton was “testing” the attendant in a way and forcing him to provide details and explanations-Anton did not really care about these in the least, though. He was going to use the coin toss alone to decide whether the attendant would get to live or die.

I think the Coen brothers include this seemingly random scene in the film because it explores and explains Anton’s character to the audience. He is not just psychotic killer, but he is very philosophical (and crafty) about his work and he seems to feel justified in what he does. To him, things are the way they are. Period. No fluff, nothing more. I also think the filmmakers use this scene to depict Anton as a character who questions the accepted, challenges the norm, and fights the system-like a rebel. He is clearly an extremist, but a smart and successful one (this is clear from the number of people he is able to kill throughout the film).