In Over Their Head - Common Themes Within Fargo and NCFOM

One thing that stood out to me while watching Fargo and No Country For Old Men was the Coen brothers' consistent incorporation of characters that seem to be in over their heads. In No Country For Old Men, these characters are Llewelyn Moss and Sheriff Ed Tom Bell. Moss is constantly pursued by ruthless assassin Anton Chigurh throughout the film, and eventually is killed because he cannot match Chigurh's strength, cunning, and overall "ultimate badass"-ery. At the same time, Bell feels overmatched and out of his element while trying to bring Chigurh to justice. He struggles to comprehend the motivations of both Llewelyn and Moss, which ultimately leads to his retirement by the end of the movie. In addition, in Fargo both Jerry Lundergaard and policewoman Marge Gunderson seem in over their heads throughout the film. Jerry is a seemingly nice man who is forced to turn to crime because of an outstanding debt, and is generally inept in his criminal endeavors. As a result, he is eventually captured and brought to justice. Marge Gunderson, in similar fashion to Ed Tom Bell, struggles to understand how someone could turn to such evil in the name of money. This use of characters who seem to be in over their heads suggests that the Coen brothers believe that criminals generally operate on a higher level than ordinary people, and when ordinary people attempt to get involved in crime, they fail miserably.