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No Country for Old Men is the story of a drug deal that ended in a shootout, the man who takes the money, a sociopathic hitman, and the small-town sheriff who tries to find both of them. Sheriff Bell’s recollections, which take the form of monologues, develop several themes that strongly inform the narrative, particularly the evolving evil in society and the inevitability of change, which always leaves people behind. The chapters, with one exception, all follow the same pattern. The first section presents a monologue from Bell told in the present tense, while the sections that follow focus on recent events related to Chigurh, Moss, and the shootout. Together, the two types of sections build the plot while digging deeper to explore the novel’s themes.
 
The story focuses on the interaction between Moss, who steals the money he finds at the shootout; Chigurh, the hitman who wants to kill Moss and recover the money; and Bell, the sheriff who has two main goals: bringing Chigurh to justice and saving Moss and, by default, Moss’s wife. While Chigurh is the clear chief antagonist, the protagonist is more a matter of debate. Many readers will think that Moss is the protagonist because he is the character who incites the action in the narrative proper by stealing more than $2 million from the scene of the drug shootout. Moss’s decision to take the money makes him the target of two different groups of drug dealers as well as Chigurh’s target. The major conflict would then be whether Chigurh will find Moss and kill him or whether Moss will escape with the money. This scenario seems destined to lead to a climax involving a dramatic confrontation between the two men. However, such a meeting never takes place. About two-thirds of the way through the novel, Moss is killed, and in an anticlimactic manner. Readers learn of the death in just a few lines, secondhand, from a deputy reporting what a witness told him.
 
The trajectory of the novel after Moss’s death makes clear that Bell is the protagonist. The real conflict is between Bell and Chigurh, as the hitman continues to leave a path of bodies behind him, and Bell makes every effort to catch him, but ultimately fails. Their conflict plays out as the age-old, universal battle of good and evil, Bell the lawman vs. Chigurh the lawless man.
 
The inciting incident that sets the Bell-Chigurh plotline in motion is Chigurh’s murder of the deputy in Chapter I, which first puts his violence on Bell’s radar. The key events in this plot are generally the same as they would be if Moss were the protagonist. Almost every time Chigurh and Moss meet, Bell is just a step behind them. These key events include Moss taking the money. Once Moss is on the run from the drug dealers, his and his wife’s protection weighs heavily on Bell because Bell is the only force of good that can save them from the evil that Chigurh manifests. Another key event is the shootout in the town of Eagle Pass, in which not only the hitmen are killed but also an innocent desk clerk, who had the bad luck to be on duty. While Bell is not present at the shootout, he witnesses the bloody aftermath. Chigurh’s complete disdain for human life is fully on display in the streets, where the dead bodies lie.

The transponder hidden in the case of money plays a vital role in the plot, contributing to Moss’s death even after he discovers and removes it. Because Moss leaves it in the hotel in Eagle Pass instead of destroying it, the device continues to send out signals, which draw Chigurh back to the Hotel Eagle. Wells, who may have been able to help Moss, is thus pushed into Chigurh’s fatal path. Another important event is the conversation between Chigurh and Moss, which escalates and leads Chigurh to declare that he will kill Carla Jean if Moss doesn’t surrender the money to him. At that moment, Carla Jean’s death is a foregone conclusion. While Bell knows nothing of this conversation, he does survey the scene of Wells’ murder (and that of another innocent desk clerk) and understands it to be the work of Chigurh, who is not satisfied with simply killing Wells, but blows half his head off and most of his right hand. Bell knows exactly what will happen to Moss if the two men meet. 

The night of Moss’s murder by the Mexican hitmen seems to be leading to a climax. Chigurh and Bell both are on the way, though for vastly different purposes. However, the climactic moment when Bell and Chigurh have the potential to meet as they both enter the motel room never occurs. Readers will not witness a confrontation between the two men in a classic showdown between good and evil. The climax of the plot actually takes place when Chigurh kills Carla Jean, and Bell can’t even uncover the name of the mysterious “ghost” he has been tracking. This is the event that changes his life forever and causes him to leave law enforcement. Chigurh’s needless murder of Carla Jean, which Bell understands has nothing to do with the money, so affects Bell that he is unable to continue. 

The remainder of the novel focuses on Bell, providing more insight into the wartime experience that thrust Bell into his self-appointed role as savior. Bell’s failure to save Carla Jean has resurfaced his past. He expresses his concerns about the future and his inability to feel comfortable in this new world. What happens next is up to each reader to decide, but one thing is certain: a world in which a man like Bell gives up on his mission to bring justice and peace to his community represents an irreparable loss in the ongoing battle of good and evil.

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