10 Movie Scenes That Do So Much Without Actually Saying Anything
6. Anton Chigurh Checks His Shoes - No Country For Old Men
The Coen brothers' Best Picture-winning masterpiece No Country for Old Men is centered around the actions of Terminator-like assassin Anton Chigurh (played by an Oscar-winning Javier Bardem), who murders anyone that stands in the way of him retrieving a case of money.
Near the end of the film, after protagonist Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is unexpectedly killed off, Chigurh pays a visit to Moss' wife Carla Jean (Kelly Macdonald), who he had previously threatened to kill.
Carla Jean returns home from her mother's funeral to find Chigurh waiting in her home, at which point he flips a coin to determine whether or not he will kill her.
However, Carla Jean refuses to call the coin, incensing Chigurh. At this point we cut to outside the house with Chigurh silently leaving, but not before checking both of his boots.
Though the Coens spare us seeing Carla Jean die, the simple action of Chigurh checking his boots makes it clear that he's killed her.
Earlier in the film we see the assassin lift up his boots after killing Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson) to avoid getting blood on them, and evidently Chigurh is checking his boots outside Carla Jean's house for bloodstains.
Simple, but so, so eerie and effective.