7 Interpretations of No Country for Old Men

There have been various interpretations for No Country for Old Men, which I have observed on imdb.com and Jim Emerson's scanners (http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/). MAJOR SPOILERS ALERT! DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE YET TO SEE THE MOVIE! Here are some of the different interpretations, making this movie a must-see-again movie.

1. Anton Chirugh is the devil. Ed Bell is God. Close attention to the cowboy hats represents halos. Notice when they're on or off. Around Bell they are on (Bell's is always on), when fighting with Chirugh they tend to fall off. Bell is coming to terms with seeing the world around him fall apart, while Chirugh passes through it. The ending note of the movie is a peaceful relax. God sits back and talks of how he sees the end, a peaceful haven without Chirugh.

2. It is mythology references, similiar to the Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? The three dogs killed are the three-headed hound guarding the afterlife in Hades, as the Rio Grande River between Texas and Mexico is the Styx, the river crossed for the way to Hell (U.S. is the Hell, hence "no country for old men").

3. The repetition of 114 (the room Moss dies in, among other references) is a possible connection to Revelations 1:14... When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last."

4. Chirugh is death personified. When people have done wrong or entered the workforce that may kill them, he takes them down with certainty. The officer at the start is naive to underestimate and misunderstand someone he picks up, Moss is a thief, and Welles is a bounty hunter with his guard down. The coin flips are less certain, left to fate. Bell is close to death in his pursuit, but retires to accept he is helpless against the fate of the people around him. Moss' wife is enlightened after the death of her husband and mother, and therefore leaves her fate to a higher power (instead of "chance" represented by the coin) and asks Chirugh to make his mind up on his own.

5. Chirugh and Bell are the same person. This is why Chirugh never worries about fingerprints and Bell never looks for them. Bell is the only person that comes close to Chirugh without engaging in gunfire. Bell follows Chirugh. Chirugh isn't in El Paso until Bell is there. Bell is always certain of what is happening and what is fruitless in persuing Chirugh. They sit in the same places and drink the same milk. When Chirugh comes to Moss' wife, she is not surprised to see him, but she never specifies who he is. (Although I find this a stretch from any literal interpretation, it does show clearly the perception that the two are opposite ends of the same coin. The slim possibility they could be the same person shows exactly how close they are in understanding each other.)

6. The stash of cash is proof "money is the root of all evil." The film just focuses on all evil caused because of it.

7. Literal meaning. See Faber's Law #3: "if it isn't what it isn't, it is what it is." All symbols aside, it's about real people. Bell is coming to terms with such evil as Chirugh in his town and him useless against it, while Moss fulfills the obligation of doing everything he desperately can do to save himself and his wife. It's also about people realizing their fates. Wells is stupid to be snuck up on by Chirugh, while Moss is naive to avoid him, and Bell retires to accept he won't die in gunfire. Only Moss' wife accepts her fate (to higher powers if Chirugh and the coin represents anything) enlightened by the death of her mother and husband.

I would like to end with a quote by Earnest Hemmingway, No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in. ... I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things."

Let this not be an area of dispute, but instead multiple interpretations.