No Country For Old Men: Coin Toss Scenes

In No Country For Old Men, coin tosses are a central element and key feature of the whole film. The first time we see a coin toss and the last time we see one are both significant moments in the film.

The first scene including a coin toss is often considered one of the most famous scenes of the film.
In this scene, Chigurh is in a tiny petrol/gas station in the middle of nowhere when he comes across the shop keep and asks how much the nuts he is eating and the gas he wants will be. The initial conversation seems quite low key and calm, but then he shop keep comments on Chigurh travelling from Dallas and Chigurh immediately gets annoyed. The key turning point to show Chigurh's annoyance is when he calls the shop keep 'friendo' The conversation had began with the shop keep asking Chigurh questions, but as soon as Chigurh becomes irritated the tables turn and he is now asking questions or answers the shop keep with questions each time. This clearly makes the shop keep uncomfortable as he knows Chigurh is trying to intimidate him and make him nervous. This dialogue is a key element in creating the tension in the scene.
The framing of the scene and lighting is done strategically (to me). Throughout the shop keep seems framed by the window behind him which connotes a feeling of isolation. Also, in every shot of the shop keep, things that look very much like nooses can be seen behind him at all times, connoting a strong theme of death or even misery. The framing of Chigurh is pretty wide and general, however, Chigurh is the only one that we can see has an obvious way out of the situation (the door); the shop keep is kept behind the shop counter, keeping him from an easy escape if he needed one. The lighting at the beginning of the scene is very light and warm until we are brought into the shop; now, the lighting is a little dark and grey. To me, the lighting on Chigurh is the most significant; it appears two toned which could signify Chigurh's conflicting thoughts and feelings - he feels angry and irritated so wants to hurt the shop keep, but feels he must stick to his 'coin toss' philosophy.
Editing in the scene is low key but still apparent. The first piece of editing that becomes apparent is the constant cuts to shots over the character's shoulders when they engage in dialogue. The second piece of apparent editing is the very slow zooms when the tension reaches it peak (when the shop keep finally calls heads or tails). These slow zooms create a feeling of intimidation from the shop keep's perspective as it seems as if Chigurh is moving closer and closer.
The music in the scene is the smallest feature. The only piece of music in this scene is tiny and barely noticeable, but it's still there, perhaps to represent the building tension and fear in the scene. Also, the music reminds me of the sounds people can barely hear that (apparently) makes the human brain feel fear that editors of horror movies use.
Both actors' performance in this scene is fantastic and very convincing. Javier Bardem's performance throughout the whole film is amazing but also alarming that he can portray a psychopath so well, but I find this scene to differ to the majority of his performance; he creates a slight sense of humour in this scene but doesn't really seem to do anything differently in his acting, which to me is impressive. The old man's performance is also very impressive as he creates a convincing sense of fear and intimidation, and also relief at the end of the scene.

The second coin toss scene is just as significant in the film as the first scene.
In this scene, Carla Jean returns home from her mother's funeral alone and obviously upset. Carla Jean sees her dining room window open and immediately knows what's going to happen and who is here. She goes into what seems to be her mothers old bedroom and

sees Chigurh sitting in the shadows.
Their conversation is short and not very lengthy as Carla Jean knows that Chigurh wants to kill her, unlike the shop keep who was unsuspecting and didn't know anything. They speak a little bit about Moss and how Chigurh gave his word to him to kill Carla Jean if he doesn't sacrifice himself, but the main part of the dialogue in this scene is when Carla Jean refuses to call heads or tails and rejects Chigurh's philosophy; this guarantees Carla Jean's demise but ultimately rubs Chigurh the wrong way and forces him to make his own choice for once.
The lighting in the scene is pretty different to the first coin toss scene. Instead of being split by light and shadows, Chigurh is completely in the shadows this time, which suggests that his evil nature has taken him over completely. Lighting on Carla Jean remains warm and quite light, which to me represents her bravery and good intentions - it also helps contrast her completely to Chigurh. The framing of the scene shows that instead of Chigurh having the immediate escape of the door, Carla Jean now has this escape opportunity. However Carla Jean still accepts her 'fate' and doesn't run from Chigurh. The final frame of the scene shows Chigurh checking his boots, confirming that he has killed Carla Jean.
This scenes editing isn't even noticeable to me; there are no zooms and the only cuts that are there are just simple cuts to show each character. There is also no music in this scene, which suggests to me that Carla Jean doesn't feel fear from Chigurh and isn't very intimidated by him.
Again, Bardem's performance in this scene remains impressive and cohesive with the rest of his performance throughout the movie. Kelly Macdonald's performance dominates the scene to me and shows a real sense of personality and morals for her character; her performance depicts her honesty, loyalty, bravery and good intentions.

Some interesting things to note about both scenes is that they both feature common elements of traditional Western film. The first scene is pretty long and drawn out before we get to a conclusion/outcome, which is very similar to most Western films such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly which features an extremely long sequence that reaches an outcome of someone being shot. Although this contrasts to the short length of the second scene, the Western element in this scene is when Chigurh checks his boots.

In conclusion, both coin toss scenes are obviously significant scenes that effectively show the nature of all characters featured.