What is and where is reality?

Texas welder and Vietnam War veteran Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) stumbles across the proverbial "drug deal gone bad" in the West Texas desert. He grabs a suitcase containing two million cash and the chase begins in the 2007 film, "No Country for Old Men."

Ready / Set / Go

The Coen brothers -- Joel and Ethan -- many are aware are "products" of Minnesota -- the metropolitan suburb of St. Louis Park, to be more precise. They also are the "makers" of many (shall we say) unique films: "Fargo," staring Joel's wife, Frances McDormand, and "No Country for Old Men," to select just two.

I recently watched a video titled, "Ending Explained: No Country for Old Men," and have included it here. The purpose of this post, however, is not to specifically center on the brothers or on the film, but sort of on a state of mind in terms of what is real and what is not in the film. Here for examination is a conversation between "no country" Sheriff Ed Tom Bell and his wife, Loretta, in which Bell is telling her about two of his dreams:

Second one, it was like we was both back in older times.

And I was a-horseback, going through the mountains of a night.

Going through this pass in the mountains.

It was cold, and there was snow on the ground.

And he rode past me and kept on going......never said nothing going by, just rode on past.

He had his blanket wrapped around him and his head down.

When he rode past, I seen he was carrying fire in a horn......the way people used to do, and I......I could see the horn from the light inside of it......'bout the color of the moon.

And, in the dream, I knew that he was......going on ahead.

He was fixin' to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and cold.

And then I woke up.

The dream scene video also is included here, with Tommy Lee Jones portraying Ed Tom Bell and Tess Harper playing Loretta.

My immediate question was whether the dream is a creation of the imagination or one that actually occurred to the author of the novel, Charles "Cormac" McCarthy, or to one of his acquaintances. I have not read any of McCarthy’s works so really have no idea of the who, what, when, where, why and how of his books or his writing habits / styles / characteristics.

On the surface, the scene seems to illustrate a belief in an afterlife and to demonstrate great love and confidence on the part of Ed Tom Bell toward his father. I suppose it could be as simple as that, but in our complex world I generally am thinking nothing is plain and clear-cut .... rather, that anything and everything must be part of a puzzle and a mystery.

I have seen the film twice in its entirety and portions of it a few times. I have a copy of the film script, which is where I obtained the quote. I have a copy of the novel on order and, theoretically, will read it and possibly find a few answers to that scene and other questions I have about the story.

Actually, I cannot recall being aware of McCarthy before the appearance of the film based on his novel .... so much out there to read and never enough time. I can identify with him in the sense that he was raised and educated in Knoxville, Tennessee, and I have personal linkage to the city and to the university and have spent a number of weeks there. From the little I have read about him, he seems to be sort of weird .... hmmmm, like who is not ....

If this post seems somewhat dazed and confused, it probably is because I am pretty much thinking / wondering / speculating with my fingers on the keyboard .... in the meanwhile, any thoughts / comments / opinions?