6. Chigurh Isnt Real - No Country For Old Men
The Crazy Theory: Another one of the key characters isnt real theory, but this one is distinct enough to deserve a mention. Many people like to think of Anton Chigurh as the Angel of Death, but theres an even more enticing theory floating around. Javier Bardems crazed killer is actually a figment of Tommy Lee Jones sheriff's imagination, the only way this old man can comprehend the fresh horrors hes seeing.
Why It Cant Be True: On the face of it, this is one I can buy. It ties into the overarching theme to the film and explains Chigurhs perfect methodology. Think about it more though and, similar to Ferris, the film shows too much for it to truly make sense. Follow the theory and we see people discuss a killer that doesn't exist (are they made up too?) while two of the films key set pieces (the car crash and the coin toss) lose all meaning. Not to mention much of Moss scenes are made unreliable. Its a nice idea that its just the drug cartels getting worse with time, but, even more so than with Ferris, it turns the film into a simple story with painful amounts of padding.