The sound that DDL emits after seeing the picture of his real brother (or is it him?) in his journal can ony be described as tortured and inhuman. He sounds more like a moaning dog, which is possibly why the image coupled with the sound is so devistating. Before the scene where he sends H.W. away (where, if you look closely, you can see him starting to cry), one can not conceive of Daniel Plainview feeling much emotion at all...
The fire-side scene where he sheds tears over the childhood picture is agonizing and startling... DDL ceases to exist as a human/actor in the natural world and only exists in the camera film and through Jonny Greenwood's "Henry Plainview". The crescendo of the violins at minute marker 1:45 of the song ushers in DDL's harrowing sobs of despair and sadness... he is utterly alone in the world... he has no blood family members left to speak of... he has been tricked into a false sense of renewal of his own life by the thiefing and lying of 'Henry' ("having you here gives me a second breath... I can't keep doing this on my own").
The only aspect of his life that is fully intact and unscathed is his greed and lust for Oil and isolation...
