Even a decade later, Chigurh remains as terrifying a cinematic persona as evermaybe even more so.
Bardem first reached mainstream recognition for his Oscar-nominated performance as Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas inBefore Night Falls.
Chigurh, though, is the role that actually got him his Oscar, and it fits.
Credit: Richard Foreman
Like a vampire, Chigurh regards other human beings as little more than meat.
Moments after we meet him, Chigurh chokes a sheriff’s deputy to death with his own handcuffs.
When the man’s neck starts spurting blood, the unflappable hitman purposely averts his face from the splatter.
There is such a wide gulf between Chigurh and other human life.
At that point, there’s nothing much you could do but die.
On the other end, there is Chigurh.
There are ghosts in the graveyard, and darkness beyond the dawn.
Sometimes, all that’s standing between you and that vast screaming void is a single coin toss.
