Why can't lead gain four electrons? The lower you go on the periodic table, the lesser you will find elements that have a more non-metallic character (so with this I mean elements that will have a lower tendency to gain electrons). Just visualize a lead atom with a very small nucleus and a large area surrounding the nucleus, filled with electrons. Now, the more you go away from the nucleus, the weaker the positively charged nucleus can 'pull' on the outer , negatively charged, valence electrons. Elements that haven't got a very tight grip on these valence electrons, will lose their valence electrons. However, elements with a small atomic radius (such as Fluorine) will have such a tight grip on its valence electrons, that it will even be able to snatch electrons from other atoms.
Of course the electron configuration of Radon is stable, because it has fully filled orbitals and it has a noble gas configuration, but you need to keep the nuclear forces in mind. This you can also see by looking at the electronegative value of lead : it is 1.87 (Pauling scale). Now compare it to carbon, which has 2.5. The lower you go in the same group, the lower the electronegativity goes and the more metallic character you will get. Elements with more metallic properties (such as lead) will mostly form ionic bonds and elements with more non-metallic properties (such as carbon) will mostly form covalent bonds. There exists a rule to predict (however it isn't always correct) if a compound will be covalently/ionically bonded : if the difference in electronegative value is higher than 1.66, then you have an ionic bond and if it is lower than 1.66 then you have a covalent bond.
Why does lead have an oxidation number of 2+ while carbon and other elements in the same group have an oxidation number of 4+? Just to correct you on this : lead does have an oxidation state of 4+ and elements above such as carbon and tin also have 2+ as an oxidation state. Just look at the electron configuration : the outer $\ce{s^2 p^2}$ orbitals will be able to lose 2 or even 4 electrons, or even gain 4 electrons. In fact these are all possible oxidation states of the elements in the carbon-group:
Carbon 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, −1, −2, −3, −4
Silicon 4, 3, 2, 1 -1, -2, -3, -4
Germanium 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, -1, -2, -3, -4
Tin 4, 3, 2, 1, -4
Lead 4, 3, 2, 1
(source : wikipedia)
Please do note the tendency to have more positive oxidation states, the lower you go in the group. (the reason why? see the beginning of the answer) Note : not all of these oxidation states are (very) stable.
Also have a look at this picture:
Notice the metallic (shown by red) character increases the lower you go on the periodic table.