Following a botched hit in London, Irish contract killers Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent to the quaint Belgian town of Bruges and told to wait for further instructions from their employer, Harry (Ralph Fiennes). While Ken takes in the sights and historic medieval villages, Ray is morose and withdrawn, disgruntled with Bruges' lack of nightlife and wracked with guilt over his accidental murder of a child. One night, while observing a film shoot with the dwarf actor Jimmy (Jordan Prentice), Ray meets and falls for Chloë (Clémence Poésy), a local production assistant.Despite his budding romance with Chloë, Ray's guilt over the child's murder haunts him at every waking moment. Ken finally receives a call from Harry, who orders him to kill Ray for botching the hit in London. Ken retrieves a pistol from Harry's local contact and tracks Ray to a park. As Ken approaches Ray from behind to kill him, he sees Ray about to shoot himself, and he stops him. Bewildered at each other's motives, Ken disarms Ray and convinces him to avoid suicide, putting him on a train out of Bruges. Following Ray's departure, Ken calls Harry, reveals his insubordination and location and abruptly hangs up. In London, an enraged Harry packs his clothes and boards a train to Bruges.Harry arrives in Bruges and visits his contact for a weapon. Aboard the train, Ray is arrested by local police and returned to Bruges for his arraignment, stemming from a minor altercation the previous day. Ken meets Harry for a drink before ascending the steps of the local bell tower, where Ken offers his life in exchange for Ray's, declaring that Ray deserves a chance at redemption. Despite Ken's unapologetic offense, Harry refuses to kill him, choosing instead to wound Ken. Meanwhile, Ray is bailed out of jail by Chloë, and the two share a drink in the plaza beneath the bell tower. As he discovers that Ray is back in Bruges, Harry abandons Ken and descends the steps to kill Ray, while Ken, wounded and unable to warn Ray, hurls himself from the bell tower, impacting against the plaza with enough life left to notify Ray of Harry's impending arrival.Harry pursues Ray through the streets before stumbling onto the film set, where Harry grievously wounds Ray, in the process inadvertently killing Jimmy. Mistaking Jimmy's decapitated body for that of a child, Harry shoots and kills himself. A gravely-wounded Ray is lifted onto an ambulance, where surrounded by the townspeople, he loses consciousness.Colin Farrell as Ray Brendan Gleeson as Ken Ralph Fiennes as Harry Clémence Poésy as Chloë Jordan Prentice as Jimmy