In this scene the audience receives a deeper insight into the mysterious mind of Anton Chigurh and his own set of rules. It is one of the few scenes in the film where his character is slightly exposed in the way the audience feels they can get to know him on a deeper level. However, his character is still left as a rarity since we don't learn anything about his background, family members or anything relating to his life, adding to the concept of active spectatorship.
The scene opens with a shopkeeper the focus of the framing. The colour palette is rather dull yet he seems to blend in with the landscape, displayed in a plaid orange shirt. The cables that hang behind him in the mise-en-scene resemble nooses, implying that death is present and very much a possibility. It also functions in setting the uneasy tone for the scene. There are lots of over the shoulder shots whilst the conversation unfolds; at first very casual and of little significance yet it doesn't take long for this helpless prey to catch Chigurh's attention. Essentially, Chigurh is most predominant in framing; he receives mid-shots and takes up a significant amount of framing even in the over-the-shoulder shots. This is just one of the ways the film uses film form to display the power-dynamic.
After making small-talk with Chigurh, (we learn he may be from Dallas !) the owner of the shop recognises some kind of threat from this odd customer and tries to close the shop.
Chigurh becomes increasingly frustrated with the man and his uncertainty in his answers; he closes "around dark" and he goes to sleep "somewhere around nine-thirty". Chigurh, becoming increasingly aggravated and subsequently understanding that the man is feeling threatened, he decides to play a game with him. He enjoys torturing him, almost like a cat playing with a mouse.
The man attempts to gain sympathy by mentioning his wife and family, yet this leads to the revelation of how the shopkeeper came to live here. Chigurh discovers he has married into it; this seems to anger him quite a bit. I personally think it's because he hasn't worked for where he is in life, and as we see later in the film Chigurh get's annoyed when someone else is hired to complete a work task that was assigned to him, working and earning things yourself is quite important to him. However, this is a scene which can be interested in many different ways and is great for active spectatorship.
The desperation from the shopkeeper is evoked within the audience from the door radiating an escape in the background of the mise-en-scene. the shots switch from over-the-shoulder to close-ups. There is a close up of a wrapper accompanied by the diegetic sound of it crinkling. This is significant as it represents a fuse being ignited, ready to explode depending on the outcome of the coin toss. The audience is manipulated into feeling sympathy for the old man, and the Coen Brothers seem to indulge in Aristotle's theory of catharsis, instilling pity and fear into this character. However, some viewers may feel excited to see some violence, it once again depends on active spectatorship.
Chigurh flips his coin, sealing the fate of the man before he has even chosen it, tying in with the theme of destiny. We hear the diegetic noise of the coin hit the table as it receives a close-up, and soon a non-diegetic drone plays in the background. This is important as its one of the few times non-diegetic sound can be heard throughout the film and its barely noticeable. It's effect replicates a continued vibrating sound from he coin, emphasising it's magnitude.
The shots revert back to being over-the-shoulder, yet now instead of still shows they very slowly zoom in. This camera movement presents the rising emotional tension of the scene. The non-diegetic sound stops once Chigurh lifts his hand from the coin removing the tensity in the atmosphere.
Chigurh's character is ultimately left a bit of a marvel. Although it can be seen that Chigurh's morals are determined by the coin and subsequently this ritual represents the theme of fate in the film, however, it is not explained where Chigurh has picked this up from or why. Although this scene functions in going into further depth to explore the working cogs in his brain, the Coen brothers leave his character extremely ambiguous to encourage active spectatorship and to keep the audience absorbed in the wonderful and weird world of No Country For Old Men.
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