No Country for Old Men ends with Moss being killed offscreen, Chigurgh getting away, and retired Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) sharing two dreams he had.

While having a conversation with actor and cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi via Interview magazine, Brolin reveals how he is still approached by people who did not like No Country for Old Men's ending. He explains that while these viewers express their distaste for how the 2007 film concluded, it demonstrates how effective the ending ultimately proved to be. Brolin also addressed how No Country for Old Men became a success despite defying Hollywood expectations. Check out Brolin's comments below:

Well, the majority of the content that you see has no viscera whatsoever. You’re not taken in, you’re not manipulated, it’s not interactive, you don’t feel a part of it, you’re not cringing, you’re not guffawing. So you go, “Why is there so much content out there and yet, if you try to do something differently, you have an algorithm of people that are in charge of these algorithms that say, no, no, no, no, no?” You think people want that, but they don’t. They want to be surprised. No Country For Old Men is a great example.

The end of No Country isn’t perfectly tied in a Hollywood bow. It was true to the book. I got pulled over by a cop once and he goes, “Hey, aren’t you the guy from that movie? I hated that ending.” I’ve heard it so many times. And I go, “How many times did you see it?” And he said, “Three.” And that’s the thing—they think they hate it, but their spirit is going, “Yes, yes, yes.” I know it’s become a cliche, but the Sam Beckett quote, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

Ambiguous Endings Stand The Test Of Time

No Country For Old Men's Ending Put It In An Elite Class Of Films

Brolin's comments speak to the power of ambiguous endings and their ability to endure. No Country for Old Men continues to be discussed, celebrated, and rewatched in a way that many other films are not, including those that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture in the years since. This holds true for other films as well, such as Christopher Nolan's 2010 film Inception, whose ending is still the source of much debate about whether Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) made it back to his children or if he is still in a dream.

No Country for Old Men won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Long before No Country for Old Men or Inception, 2001: A Space Odyssey was another film that captured the imagination with an ambiguous ending as Dr. David Bowman (Keir Dullea) transformed into a giant fetus floating above Earth. 2001 is considered a science-fiction classic and one of Stanley Kubrick's all-time greatest films. As frustrating as the endings for all three of these films can be, they make their respective conclusions more memorable and stick with viewers years later.

No Country for Old Men stands the test of time, largely because of the questions it leaves for the viewers.

The lack of resolution and explicit explanations for certain details worked well for the characters in No Country for Old Men, Inception, and 2001. While it can be satisfying to see a story neatly resolve all loose ends and explicitly answer all questions, this approach can also make a story forgettable and feel less worthwhile to revisit. No Country for Old Men stands the test of time, largely because of the questions it leaves for the viewers.

Source: Interview

Your Rating

No Country for Old Men
Release Date
November 21, 2007
Runtime
122 minutes
Director
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
  • Headshot Of Kelly Macdonald
    Kelly Macdonald
  • Headshot Of Woody Harrelson IN The Oceana’s 5th annual Rock Under the Stars event
    Woody Harrelson

WHERE TO WATCH

No Country for Old Men is a western crime-thriller based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy and directed by the Cohen Brothers. Following three protagonists, the film centers around a large $2,000,000+ cache of dirty money lost near the Rio Grande. With a veteran who finds it, a hitman who will stop at nothing to get it, and a sheriff trying to investigate the crimes connected to it, all roads lead to death and mayhem as they find themselves in each other's crosshairs. 

Writers
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Studio(s)
MiraMax
Distributor(s)
Universal Pictures, MiraMax
Budget
$25 million