12 Incredible Slow Burn Movie Scenes With Killer Pay Offs

9. No Country For Old Men -€“ Coin Toss

javier bardem no country for old men
Paramount Vantage

A sort of neo-Western thriller with classic Coen brother humour thrown in, No Country for Old Men is a relentlessly suspenseful film from start to finish. The story follows Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), an ordinary man who comes across a drug deal gone awry, and makes the decision to try and get away with the money. He's pursued by a hitman named Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a sociopathic gun-for-hire whose every action challenges our preconceived notions of morality and rationality.

The system by which Chigurh justifies his actions €(a simple coin toss) “ comes into play when he is irritated by the questions of a friendly gas station proprietor. The questions are merely conversational, but it is clear that for whatever reason, the proprietor has put himself in a mortal situation when Chigurh challenges him to a coin toss.

It's only through excellent performances and precise dialogue that we know how serious this could be for the poor proprietor, and when the result of the coin toss is revealed, we find ourselves suitably nervous. Thankfully the proprietor called it correctly, and Chigurh congratulates him and wanders off, making this the most positive exchange in the film despite its inherent danger.

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