[Vulcan]

The sheriff is too old for the game anymore and if he continues, he's going to get killed. He knows this and so is retiring and trying to accept his change of life. This change has made him contemplative about death and so he dreams of his dead dad preparing the way for him to the next life. The fire to me is a combination of the light that people claim to see in near death experiences leading them on and also a symbol of warmth and home.

To say the movie should have ended after Chigar's accident misses the point that the movie wasn't about Chiguhr or Llewellyn Moss, it was about the Sheriff not being able to cut the mustard anymore. The other characters were good but they could have been anyone that sheriff Bell couldn't handle and no longer could understand. At least that's the way I see it because I can relate to Bell's situation.