Joel and Ethan Coen are known for creating films that exist in worlds particularly crafted through the lens of these filmmakers. One element that the brothers utilize is space. We watch as Llewelyn scopes out the land with his binoculars, for example. There's no interaction directly with a human being, and so there is very little dialogue. The sounds stick to that of the dirt moving as Llewelyn walks on it, the wind and any movement he has in the scene.
What we are able to understand through this imagery is that Llewelyn is attempting to reason what he will do next. Will he carry on or turn back? And as we begin to understand that people's lives have been taken once we move closer to the scene of the murders with Llewelyn we understand that his surveying was done with great care for a purpose. It could be a set up, and he could be next to be killed. All of this creates suspense over what could be a quickly run-through sequence.
We also see this space in a new for when Anton asks a store owner to choose heads or tails. The intensity of this moment is remembered by anyone who's seen the film because of the space in which the Coen brothers created for the characters to live within during this scene. One, the store clerk, doesn't understand the stakes because there shouldn't be any; but there are because Anton lives with the highest of stakes constantly - everything is life or death to him and he makes the man understand this with no uncertainty. The Coen brothers crafted a crime thriller that has gone on to be one of the most praised films of its genre.
