Anton Chigurh

"What's the most you ever lost in a coin toss?"

- Anton Chigurh

Anton Chigurh is the main antagonist of the novel and film, No Country For Old Men. In the movie he is portrayed by Javier Bardem. He is described as a ruthless hitman who was one of the pioneers of the unstoppable killing machine genre.

Biography
In the novel he is portrayed as the main antagonist even though he never shared a scene with the story's main protagonist, Ed Tom Bell.

His main weapon of choice is a Captive Bolt Pistol, which he uses to smash holes in human skulls or opening door locks. He also uses a silenced semi-automatic shotgun, which comes in handy in the scene where he single-handedly killed a group of Mexican gang who was sent to kill Chigurh's target, Llewelyn Moss. He also carries with him TEC-9 pistol. He's also collects coins which he always carry for luck.

In the movie he appears wearing tough jeans, leather boots and bowl cut hair. Sometimes before he kills his victim, he plays a coin toss. He has a great deal of endurance. Capable of withstanding pain from a shotgun ricochet and a broken or fractured arm. He also has a broad medical knowledge and can even take care of his own wounds. He also shows some level of intelligence as seen when he escapes a sheriff's precinct and steals medical supplies from a drug store filled with civilians and security.

Anton also has a big knowing in improvising normal things, like using an antique coin to open an air vent, killing a policemen with his own handcuffs and using a boy's shirt as a sling.

No Country For Old Men
Chigurh is a hitman who has no remorse or compassion for other human beings. He is described by one character in the novel as a "psychopathic killer". His main weapon of choice is a captive bolt pistol, which he uses to either kill his victims or to destroy cylinder locks on doors. He also wields a suppressed semi-automatic shotgun and pistol (a TEC-9 in the film adaptation). In 1980, he is hired to retrieve a bag of money from a drug deal that went wrong, but discovers that a hunter named Llewelyn Moss has taken it already and has left town. Chigurh tracks Moss down to a motel using a receiver that connects to a transponder hidden in the satchel of money. However, Moss unintentionally tricks Chigurh into believing he was in the room next to his when he hides the money in the ventilation system. That room was being occupied by a group of Mexican gangsters who were set to ambush Moss. Chigurh brutally murders the Mexicans and searches for the money, but it is nowhere to be found.

Chigurh finds out about a bounty hunter named Carson Wells who, like Chigurh, has been hired to retrieve the bag of money. Chigurh kills Wells after Wells tries to make a deal with Moss. Chigurh ruthlessly tracks Moss down until Moss is eventually killed by Mexican gangsters at another motel. Once again Moss hid the money in the vents, which was unseen by the Mexicans at the time of their ambush of Moss. However after his experience with Moss before, Chigurh knows where the money will be. He arrives at the scene of the crime after the police have left, retrieves the money from the vent and returns it to his employers.

Near the end, Chigurh pays a visit to Moss' grieving widow and debates whether or not to kill her, relying on a coin toss. After leaving her house, Chigurh is involved in a car crash, leaving him badly injured with a compound fracture of his left ulna and walking with a limp. He then offers money to a teenager on a bicycle to give him his T-shirt. He and the teenager create a sling for his injured arm and Chigurh leaves the scene before the ambulance arrives.

Reception
Critics have praised Bardem's portrayal of Chigurh, which won him an Oscar, a Golden globe and a BAFTA for his performance. Chigurh has been added to numerous lists of greatest villains. The Nostalgia Critic named him the 3rd scariest performance of all time. UGO.com ranked him in top 11 silver screen psychos. He is ranked 46 in The 100 Greatest Movie Character of Empire.com and he also appeared in The Simpsons and Disaster Movie.

He also has his own production of t-shirts and action figures based on the movie.

Trivia

 * Javier Bardem jokingly said that "he won't be getting laid for weeks" after seeing for the first time his new haircut.
 * It wasn't featured in the movie what happen between the tossing of coin between Anton and Carla, but it is heavily hinted that he did kill her when Chigurh left the house and inspects his shoes, probably to see if there is any blood that may produce a shoe-print.
 * In the book, he does shoot Carla after she calls Heads but the coin lands on Tails.
 * He never comes face-to-face with or meets the protagonist, Ed Tom Bell, in the story.