Anton Chigurh is the main antagonist in the 2007 film No Country for Old Men by the Coen brothers, adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Cormac McCarthy. This assassin was portrayed by Javier Bardem, an actor known for his villain roles in other works like the Pirates of the Caribbean series and Skyfall. However, this remains one of Bardem's most exceptional performances, earning him an Oscar in 2008 for Best Supporting Actor. Not stopping there, the character of Anton Chigurh also contributed significantly to the Oscar sweep of No Country for Old Men, with wins in the categories of Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. Furthermore, Javier Bardem took home both the BAFTA and the Golden Globe thanks to this role. Additionally, this Western assassin has appeared in numerous famous rankings, most notably securing the 18th position on the list of the greatest villains on the big screen, according to statistics from ranker.com.
Before we continue with Anton, I want to share a bit about scriptwriting. In the process of character building, there's an important element that most filmmakers pay attention to, and that is the background. In other words, to capture the audience's attention, screenwriters often have to attach details to the character, such as who they are, what their past is like, whether they have experienced any sorrow or loss, how they think, and so on. But what's unique here is that Anton Chigurh has none of these elements. So, how could a character missing such a crucial pillar in character development still be so outstanding? In my opinion, it's because he is truly terrifying. Actually, it's not just me who thinks this way; even major newspapers around the world have expressed similar views.
Specifically, The New York Times remarked
The specter of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a deadpan sociopath with a funny haircut, will feed many a nightmare,...
while Rolling Stone stated
Bardem, with pale skin and the world’s worst haircut, is stupendous in the role, a monster for the ages.
So, what is it about Anton Chigurh that makes even film critics so afraid of him? He doesn't command a large army, he doesn't possess superhuman powers, nor does he take the lives of dozens of people. Let's find the answer together in this article.
We humans always feel more comfortable with familiar or close people because we somewhat understand their personality and thoughts, making it easier to interact with them. Filmmakers have taken advantage of this psychology by giving Anton Chigurh a defining trait: unpredictability.
Unpredictability
In the book Writing Monsters, author Philip Athans writes:
In fact, the less your characters know about what a monster can and can’t do, the better. It’s this unpredictability that will keep your readers on the edge of their seats, playing into the power of the imagination.
Based on this notion, it turns out that not giving Anton Chigurh a background is an effective strategy. Throughout the film, we are given very little information about this man. In other words, viewers don't know anything about his past or his motivations for each of his actions. We only know that Anton is an assassin tasked with hunting down the main character, Llewelyn Moss after he seizes a large sum of money from criminals. This unintentionally gives Anton an advantage—he has no weaknesses.
Some other characters with superhuman abilities still have flaws. For example, Superman is weakened by Kryptonite, or Spider-Man is too young and struggles to balance two opposing lives. This shows just how dangerous Anton Chigurh truly is. In fact, building unpredictable monsters has been used in other films like Bird Box or A Quiet Place. We don’t know where these monsters come from or how they operate. This creates a sense of fear in the audience because we can’t control these creatures. However, as the films progress, viewers eventually realize that these monsters share a common weakness. For instance, in A Quiet Place, they are sensitive to sound, and the creatures in Bird Box indirectly kill those who see them. So even without a specific background, these monsters become less frightening as the films go on.
But with Anton Chigurh, it’s a completely different story. Besides being unpredictable due to his lack of background, his actions have no common pattern. He might let himself be captured only to kill the officer with handcuffs later, shoot the people who hired him, or kill an old man on the road despite the man's politeness, yet spare another person’s life by flipping a coin. This bizarre behavior makes Anton even more terrifying because the audience cannot predict his actions. Additionally, Anton's mysterious nature is further highlighted by his signature weapon. Who could ever imagine that a killer would be carrying around a captive bolt stunner and using it as a murder weapon?
In fact, Anton’s appearance itself is a factor that adds to his fearsome presence. His outfit is typical and not much different from what we often see in Western films, but just look at that haircut. Even Javier Bardem admitted that it was a role with a "stupid haircut," so you can already imagine. But that’s precisely what makes this killer so much scarier. A hitman with a ridiculous appearance yet committing brutal acts is, of course, more haunting than those killers who are already terrifying because it defies the audience’s expectations.
For a character to be this complex, we cannot overlook the aspect of acting. Throughout the film, Javier Bardem’s face remains almost always calm and emotionless, whether he has just killed someone or is injured. Every action of his in the movie is deliberate and unhurried. According to a study by Belgian psychologist Samuel Leistedt and 10 colleagues, among the 400 films they watched, there were 126 characters displaying typical traits of psychopathy. Among them, Anton Chigurh topped the list as the most realistic psychopath. Leistedt commented:
He seems to be effectively invulnerable and resistant to any form of emotion or humanity.
Indeed, because of his inhuman nature, Anton has a unique ability to carry out acts of violence in an unspeakable manner when eliminating his unfortunate victims.
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Violence
According to Dr. Karl Albrecht, a psychologist and physicist, humans have five basic fears, one of which is the fear of physical harm—mutilation. To be more specific, we fear the feeling of our bodies being violated or losing a part of them. This is directly related to violence, and filmmakers often exploit this reaction to create terrifying killers with gruesome methods, like Michael Myers or Jigsaw, and of course, Anton Chigurh is no exception.
He slashed a police officer's carotid artery with handcuffs, blew off hands and shredded bodies of assassins in a motel. These actions provoke fear in the audience because once you're facing Anton's gun, there's a high chance you'll be sent to serve the Lord in heaven.
Do you remember Philip Athans' earlier remark about unpredictability in characters?
...keep your readers on the edge of their seats, playing into the power of the imagination.
Of course, Anton stimulates the audience’s imagination through the principle of "show, don’t tell," the essence of cinema. This is extremely important as Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." In other words, people tend to remember and be more impressed by things they figure out for themselves rather than those directly explained to them.
Through the way they frame the scenes, the Coen brothers convey this to the audience. Specifically, in the scene where Carson Wells meets his end, there isn’t a single camera shot showing his face. In fact, before pulling the trigger, Anton even pauses for a relatively long time. Normally, in execution scenes in some films, the audience gets to witness the victim’s reaction before they depart from life. So why, in No Country for Old Men, did the Coen brothers do the opposite?
In my opinion, it’s because they wanted the audience to imagine Carson's reaction when faced with death. Remember, earlier Carson had to negotiate with Anton to try to save his life, so it’s intriguing to think about what his face might have looked like before the assassin’s gun. Was he relieved when Anton stopped talking and looked away? Was he shocked when he realized he had just taken a fatal shot? We’ll never know because even when Carson is dead, there isn’t a single frame focusing on him. All we see is Anton’s emotionless face.
In fact, the Coen brothers' masterful use of imagery doesn’t stop there. In the original book, when Anton is in Carla Jean Moss's house, she begs for her life, and he decides to play the coin toss game. She chooses heads, but unfortunately, the coin lands on tails, and so Anton shoots her, with everything laid bare for the reader. But in the movie, it's different. Besides Carla refusing to play the game of chance, we are not directly shown whether she dies or not. However, based on the visual cues, the filmmakers subtly inform us about her fate.
Specifically, through actions like Anton removing his shoes to walk barefoot, pulling the curtains closed before firing, and lifting his feet to avoid the blood from Carson’s body earlier, it’s clear that Anton dislikes getting blood on his clothing. The first thing he does after leaving the Moss house is check the soles of his shoes. This act implies that he has already killed Carla.
The Coen brothers' approach, in my opinion, is more effective because the audience is left to imagine Carla’s death. Only Anton Chigurh knows how she truly died, and this makes him all the more terrifying.
Unstoppability
All of the aspects mentioned above ultimately serve to support the most terrifying element of Anton—that he is unstoppable in every way. To clarify this point, let’s examine the recurring theme of relentless pursuit throughout the film. Specifically, we witness two chases: Anton hunting Llewelyn, and the police chasing Anton.
In similar films with the hunter-vs-hunted motif, such as The Terminator or Mad Max, we also follow intense chases between both sides. The pursuit itself already creates immense tension, as humans naturally fear the feeling of being caught. This makes villains like the T-800, T-1000, or Immortan Joe highly menacing because they never stop chasing their prey, no matter how much damage they sustain. The same applies to Anton—he tracks Llewelyn to the ends of the earth, forcing him and his wife to go on the run.
Even after being injured by the protagonist's gunfire, Anton is still determined to hunt him down, even going as far as killing those who help Llewelyn escape. What’s even more haunting is how the assassin threatens the protagonist with things closest to him. This approach builds a lingering sense of unease in the audience because we know the protagonist will never be safe as long as Anton is alive.
Returning to the point that Anton is considered the most realistic psychopath, this aligns perfectly with his relentless and persistent pursuit of his goals. A true psychopath ALWAYS follows through with absolute determination, unbothered by any obstacles in their path. In fact, even as the one being hunted, Anton is not any more comfortable or at ease. Remember, by the end of the film, the law enforcement forces still fail to catch this assassin, despite their intense pursuit.
In most conventional films, the story would unfold with Llewelyn either escaping or managing to kill Anton with the help of the police, and then reuniting with his wife. But the Coen brothers completely shattered these expectations, delivering an ending where the protagonist dies suddenly and the antagonist achieves his goal. This conclusion may leave some viewers feeling uneasy, but it undeniably leaves us with a chilling realization—that evil can infiltrate anywhere. It also shows that this killer is capable of breaking even the usual rules, making Anton even more terrifying.
In terms of ideology, Anton Chigurh is truly a monster, as he also contributes to dismantling the film's symbol of justice. In the ending, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell recounts two dreams he had. I won't delve into their symbolic meanings here, but I will offer my perspective on how they relate to the main antagonist. In my view, the sheriff's stories represent his helplessness in the face of evil, specifically the psychopath Anton—a murderer who forces the figure of justice to retreat in defeat.
Let me share an additional fact with you: Anton Chigurh's influence extends beyond the screen. To embody this cold-blooded assassin, Javier Bardem had to endure an incredibly difficult period. The hair you see in the film is actually Bardem's real hair, meaning he had to live his everyday life under that messy, disheveled look. Additionally, Bardem revealed that he felt isolated, having to repeatedly go to the set to film murder scenes, then return to sleep, with just six days off in a completely open environment. All of this was in service of fully bringing Anton to life on screen.
Let me reveal one more truth to you: Anton Chigurh's impact transcends the screen. To portray this cold-hearted assassin, Javier Bardem had to endure an incredibly challenging period. The hair you see in the film is Bardem's real hair, meaning he had to live his daily life with that messy, disheveled look. Moreover, Bardem shared that he felt isolated, as he constantly had to go to the set to film murder scenes, then return to sleep, with only six days off in a completely open space. All of this was done to fully bring Anton to life on screen.
To conclude on the terrifying nature of Anton Chigurh, I'll leave you with the actor's own words about this character:
He's a guy of his word, in a way, and also a symbol, a violent fate that you have called for, the genie out of the lamp. And when violence shows up, it's impossible to destroy, it only creates misery and pain, and doesn't get you anywhere.
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