No Country for Old Men characters

Appears from the start

The sheriff of a sparsely populated West Texas county, nearing retirement after a long law-enforcement career. A decorated veteran of the Second World War, Bell measures himself against an older code of duty and is troubled by violence that seems to have escaped the limits he understands. His reflective account frames the pursuit that follows.

Appears from the start

A welder and Vietnam veteran living with his young wife in a trailer outside Sanderson. While hunting antelope, he comes upon the wreckage of a drug transaction in the desert and follows the evidence to a case containing more than two million dollars. Capable and self-reliant, he understands that taking it will bring dangerous people after him.

Appears from the start

A remorseless killer traveling through West Texas in pursuit of missing drug money. He carries a captive-bolt device as well as a suppressed shotgun, and treats his own severe ideas about chance, promises, and consequence as if they were an impersonal law. He is methodical, resourceful, and immediately lethal to anyone who obstructs him.

Appears from the start

Llewelyn's young wife, who shares his modest trailer home. She recognizes that his sudden insistence that she leave town means he has entered serious trouble, even though he tells her little. Practical and loyal, she goes to stay with her mother while he attempts to draw the danger away from them.

Appears from the start

Bell's wife and trusted companion. She knows the personal cost of his work and listens to doubts he cannot readily share in public. Their settled marriage represents the home and moral continuity Bell is trying to protect.

Appears from the start

The local officer who first arrests Chigurh after finding him carrying an unusual weapon. Lamar contacts Sheriff Bell after his deputy is killed and Chigurh escapes, placing Bell at the beginning of the wider investigation.

First appears in chapter 2

One of Bell's deputies, steady and observant as the sheriff follows the trail from the desert crime scene through motels and border towns. Wendell helps Bell examine evidence while the scale and strangeness of the case become clear.

First appears in chapter 5

An experienced American operative hired to recover the money and contain the damage from the failed drug exchange. He knows who Chigurh is and regards him as exceptionally dangerous. Wells approaches the wounded Moss with an offer of protection in exchange for the case.

First appears in chapter 6

Carla Jean's ill, demanding mother, who accompanies her daughter away from West Texas for safety and medical care. Her need for attention makes secrecy and quick movement difficult while Llewelyn remains a fugitive.

First appears in chapter 11

Bell's elderly uncle, a former lawman who lives alone after losing the use of his legs. Blunt and unsentimental, Ellis remembers violence in the family's past and challenges Bell's belief that the present age is uniquely fallen.