Having just seen No Country For Old Men a second time, I am sure that the Coen brothers’ latest movie is full of self-referential cinematic jokes.  I wonder why they would include such antics in what is one of their most serious movies.  No matter, let’s have some fun pointing them out.

1) When Llewlyn has a striking thought in his bed at night (twice: the water, and the transponder), the camera angle and lighting mimic the epiphany of Nic Cage’s character in Raising Arizona in the last moments of that film.

2) Carson Wells’ throwaway line about counting the floors that lead up to an office serves two functions: first, to show the flippant meticulousness of Wells’ character.  Second, it is a reference to The Hudsucker Proxy, in which men of similar character worry about whether or not the mezzanine ‘counts’ as a floor.

3) And the U.S. border guard who chews out Moss is not pacified until Moss tells him about his Vietnam service record.  And he’s wearing Aviators.  Just like Walter’s in The Big Lebowski.

Too far-fetched?  There are a few other references I considered, but am not familiar enough with all of the Coens’ films to be sure.  Did you notice any others?  And why would the Coens be so silly?

Let me know what you think…