In Just 5 Words, This Unforgettable Last Line Defined the Greatest Western of the Modern Era

The confidence it took for Joel and Ethan Coento conclude their Best Picture-winning masterpiece, No Country for Old Men, with just an ambiguous five-word line was unfathomable, but then, few directors have a cinematic touch as distinctive as the two brothers'. The oft-discussed ending of their 2007 crime-thriller/neo-Western, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, ends on a solemn, elliptical note, as Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) recalls two of his dreams to his wife while sitting at the table. However, as is the case with most dreams, Bell can't come to any definitive conclusions about his. Not only does his monologue end with "And then I woke up," but so does the film, an ending that instantly became classic. No Country for Old Men's ending was a fitting coda to the neo-Western, and one that speaks to the dark essence of humanity.