All 18 Movies by the Coen Brothers, Ranked

“Miller’s Crossing” was lauded by some critics as the best gangster film since the “Godfather” movies. Boasting an impressive cast that included Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, John Turturro, and Marcia Gay Harden, the story takes place during Prohibition and involves a power struggle between competing gangs over liquor distribution. “The Coens’ take on Depression-era gangster flicks looks gorgeous and showcases John Turturro’s best acting ever,” said Peter Travers of Rolling Stone.

Spun out of Cormac McCarthy’s dark novel, this four-time Oscar winner starred Josh Brolin as a hunter who stumbles on the aftermath of a drug deal gone bad and pockets the cash left behind. Javier Bardem is a killer tasked with finding the hunter and the cash, and Tommy Lee Jones is an aging lawman trying to protect the hunter. Tom Charity of CNN.com called Bardem – who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role – “the most original bogeyman to bloody up the screen in a while.”

A comedy about as dark as they come, “Fargo” won Oscars for the Coens for Best Writing and for Frances McDormand for Best Actress. The plot is set in the desolate winter landscape of Fargo, North Dakota, and revolves around an indebted car salesman (William H. Macy) who hires two thugs to kidnap his wife and hold her for ransom to be paid by her rich father. The scheme falls apart when the thugs shoot a state trooper.