Yeah, yeah. Anton Chigurh. Scary. He uses the most impractical murder weapon ever devised and may flip a coin in you beg for your life. But he is dogged and relentless. Silent death that might be a shadow behind the door or a load of silenced buckshot about to blow through it. He is a great character.
Buster, however, is a homicidal Bugs Bunny. He is chaotically chipper, will murder you with a song, and that smile signals real menace. Hinkley flashes that same Joker smile in Switchback and it really is creepy. Anton is doing a job. He's a monster, but he will attempt to cut you an even chance if you plead, allowing you a possible way out. Buster, however, is looking to annoy (pushing the issue when the bartender denies him whisker) or enrage you (e.g., breaking into a musical number with the saloon singing along after he kills your brother) into violence so that he can shoot your fingers off one by one. He is a mocking repudiation of the culture of honor that pushed men into dangerous posture (i.e., dueling and fighting), a cartoon who games it to wreak havoc.
Buster, however, is a homicidal Bugs Bunny. He is chaotically chipper, will murder you with a song, and that smile signals real menace. Hinkley flashes that same Joker smile in Switchback and it really is creepy. Anton is doing a job. He's a monster, but he will attempt to cut you an even chance if you plead, allowing you a possible way out. Buster, however, is looking to annoy (pushing the issue when the bartender denies him whisker) or enrage you (e.g., breaking into a musical number with the saloon singing along after he kills your brother) into violence so that he can shoot your fingers off one by one. He is a mocking repudiation of the culture of honor that pushed men into dangerous posture (i.e., dueling and fighting), a cartoon who games it to wreak havoc.