No Country For Old Men and Fargo

The first Coen Brothers film we viewed, No Country For Old Men, is very concise in indicating certain actions that are going to, or already took place, but aren't explicitly shown on screen. For instance, after Chigurh breaks down his way into the motel room where his tracker has lead him, he decides to take his socks off just before he begins searching for the money. My first assumption as to why the character did this was that he was being extra careful to not leave any traces of him being at the scene, had the cops returned at a later time. However, I then realized that this most likely wasn't his motive because there are other factors that could reveal his presence at the scene. I then began to question his motive and wonder why the directors decided to zoom-in on this particular part. Another scene that I personally found very clear in its indication of what had happened, was when Chigurh was leaving Carla Jean Moss' house. Just before he leaves, there is a scene between Chigurh and Carla Jean in which she pleads him not to kill her, knowing that that's what he has come to do. Instead of actually showing Chigurh committing the murder, the film fast forwards to him walking out of the house and checking the bottom of his shoes. This is a clear indication that he did kill Carla Jean and was now checking for any blood he may have brought with him. The second film we viewed by the Coen Brothers was Fargo. Much alike, Fargo consists of moments in which the motives and actions of specific characters are shown without actually showing the action taking place. At the very end of the film, Gaear Grimsrud is shown working in the back of the house with a chipper and all the audience sees is a mountain of blood-covered snow. As the police officer slowly approaches him, a leg being brutally destroyed in the chipper is revealed. The Coen brothers' decision to not actually show Carl being killed but only his remains being disposed of, is unique in its way to allow an audience to imagine the killing for their own. While watching this particular scene, I was interested in its ability to reveal Gaear's motive of concealing the crime he's committed, and indicate Carl's death without explicitly showing it. In my opinion, both of these Coen Brothers films stand out in their way to indicate certain actions that have already, or are going to occur, without actually showing it on screen.