The Sisters Brothers (2018) Movie Script
2
Hey!
This is the Sisters Brothers.
The Commodore sent us.
He knows you have Blount.
Hand him over
and the rest of you will live.
Oh, Jesus.
Goddamn!
I can't see shit.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
Okay.
Fuck. It's not him.
Kick it.
Holy shit!
Blount? Blount?
No! No!
Please!
Charlie.
Hey, did you get him?
Yeah, he's dead.
- The barn.
- What?
The barn!
- What are you doing?
- I'm not walking home.
Eli! Eli!
Don't be fucking stupid!
Let's go!
Come on! They're
just fucking horses! Eli!
Eli!
How many you think
we killed?
I don't know.
Six, seven?
What?
Well, we fucked
that up real good.
What did the Commodore say?
Did you mention the horses?
Let's go get a drink.
He said
if there'd been a lead man,
we wouldn't have had problems
at the Blount ranch.
He says for the next job,
we need to have a lead man.
What's it mean
about money?
It means more for me.
No. My money, I mean.
Same as before?
Well, no. Less, obviously.
If the Commodore wants to pay
for a lead man, that's fine.
But it's bad business
to short the man underneath.
You're not asking
what the job is?
No.
Are you pouting?
Hey.
Fuck off, we're not done yet.
I'll tell you anyways.
We have to go south
and find Morris.
- The Commodore's John Morris?
- Mm-hmm.
Why do we have to find Morris?
He's after a prospector
named Hermann Kermit Warm.
Great. He can find him
and kill him, then.
End of story.
Morris is a scout,
he's not a killer.
The mission is, Morris finds
Warm, he holds him,
we come in and finish the job.
That's the mission.
What about the horses?
What's your goddamn problem
with the horses?
The Commodore told us he would
get us new horses.
Isn't that what he did?
No. For you he got a new horse.
For me, he made room
in his stable
and got rid of some horse meat.
Don't you think we
should talk about this later?
No, I don't need
the horse later.
I need it now, for the job.
The horse is fine.
Stop being a baby.
Is it the words
"go halves" you don't like?
The lead man is paying.
- It's open.
- Thanks.
Hyah! Hyah!
Hey, come cut the back
of this for me.
Just cut it off.
You look funny.
What did this
Hermann Warm do?
He stole something
from the Commodore.
Don't you find it strange,
all these men
foolish enough to steal
from such a dangerous man?
How do they even steal
anything at all?
We know how cautious
the Commodore is.
Caution has nothing
to do with it.
He does business
in every corner of the country,
even overseas.
The man can't be
everywhere at once.
It stands to reason
he'd be victimized.
Victimized?
Yes, victimized.
The Commodore is victimized?
Well, what would you call it?
If a man is forced
to protect his fortune
with the likes of us,
what would you call it?
Not victimized.
You're not gonna start
nitpicking
over every word, are you?
What's your problem?
Are you upset?
You're upset because
I'm the lead man? Is that it?
If that's it, say so,
but stop splitting hairs.
I'm not splitting hairs.
You're using a strange word,
and I'm making you take notice.
Tell me something.
Could it be your
Miss Emilia Partridge?
What are you talking about?
Could it be the schoolteacher
that gave you
that silly red scarf?
The one you keep folding
and unfolding in secret.
It's called a shawl.
Am I not entitled
to any privacy?
- You made plans with her?
- Plans?
Start a family, have children,
marry her, something like that.
I don't know.
Why are you so interested
all of a sudden?
I was just wondering
about family.
You remember how Pa was with Ma?
Yes, Charlie, I remember.
Makes you think.
You're not scared
to reproduce yourself?
You do realize that our father
was stark-raving mad
and we got his foul blood
in our veins?
Our father drank, Charlie.
Touch.
That was his gift to us.
That blood.
That's why we're good
at what we do.
The wheel of the wagon!
Get that wheel down.
Pull!
- Come on, heave!
- Ho!
- Heave!
- Ho!
Come on, pull!
Harder!
- Pull!
- Pull!
Forty cents, half a day.
Want some water?
May 15th. Myrtle Creek, Oregon.
Want a little bit more
of that...?
The gold rush has made the
detective's job much easier.
When you look
for a woman, a man,
a horse or a dog,
just follow the gold.
And soon enough, you'll find
whom or what you're after.
Hermann Kermit Warm.
Eats messily...
five foot six, lean,
dark skin, no friends,
no baggage, no money.
Sheamus, do you have
any cigarettes?
No, I don't got any more.
Sisters.
S-I-S-T-E-R-S, like "sisters."
No, uh, nothing.
I would have remembered.
Well, let's hope no news
is good news.
What's the next town
on the trail?
Myrtle Creek.
- How far?
- Two days.
Does that interest you, sir?
What is it?
It's a toothbrush, sir.
To keep your teeth longer
and your breath fresher,
and you use it with this powder.
Thank you.
Hey.
What kind of boots do you have?
I'll be right with you, sir.
What size do you take, sir?
Hmm.
It's good. Is it vegetables?
Borscht.
- I taste dill.
- Borscht.
Get out!
Stop!
- Get outta here!
- Five, six...
Seven, eight, nine...
Oh, where did you go?
Where did you go?
Go home, you fools.
Fucking cowards!
Oh come on!
No one wants
to measure themselves up
against Charlie Sisters?
No one, really?
- Stand up. Come on.
- Wait.
I'm okay.
Don't judge me, please.
Some days we're stronger
than others.
More planks!
May 17th, Wolf Creek.
I travel through places that
didn't exist three months ago.
First there are tents,
then houses.
Then two months later,
shops with women
fiercely discussing
the price of flour.
I found this line by Thoreau.
"This town too lies out..."
Have we seen each other before?
We know each other.
No, I don't think so.
You were in Myrtle Creek
two days ago.
Yes, I was,
like many other folk.
Oh. Are you heading
to San Francisco?
No, just to Jacksonville.
To work?
- Yes.
- Oh.
Remember when that bull
charged in the theater?
You?
San Francisco?
Gold?
Yes, like many other folk.
May I tell you something, sir?
Of course.
Typically, when a man wishes
another man good day,
he smiles while facing
the other person;
but once he passes by,
the smile drops from his face.
Not you.
Your smile remains on your lips
after you've turned away.
Well, I... hadn't noticed.
It's common courtesy.
Not only that.
Not everybody does it.
You... take a genuine pleasure
in communing with others.
Am I mistaken?
I honestly do not know.
Would you like
to join me for lunch?
I would love to,
but I'm hard up at the moment.
As my guest, of course.
What takes you to Jacksonville?
Business to settle. I'm meeting
two associates there.
How are you making your way
down south?
Uh, I have a seat
in a covered wagon.
How long till you get to Frisco?
The question is not how long
before I get there,
the question is what state
will I be in when I do, if I do?
To be honest with you...
...my faith in my hosts
is very limited.
They've rifled through
my belongings several times.
Whenever I take out my money,
their eyes are like daggers.
Mr. Warm! You ought to not
endanger yourself in that way.
You have to be more careful
than that.
What other choice do I have?
Fifty, horseshoes included.
Thirty-five.
No, 35 is for a mule.
Forty, with saddle bag
and shoes.
Listen, you want to buy a horse,
you pay the price for a horse.
You're never gonna sell
this horse.
Not at 50, not at 40.
She has a bad hip.
Anyone would see that
with an eye. Forty.
- Forty.
- What...?
Gentlemen, I have found him.
I have managed to make
his acquaintance
and have arranged
to travel with him.
If all goes well,
we should be in Jacksonville
in seven days.
I will try to hold him
until your arrival
and find a secluded place
to hand him over.
"Make haste. John Morris."
Well, chalk one up for Morris.
Even if I don't like
the "make haste."
Who does that asshole
think he is?
When did they pass through?
Four days ago.
Is there a faster way
to Jacksonville, off trail?
Well, it's rougher
to go up the mountains,
but you'll save
a couple of days.
The rain muddied it
all up. I can't see a thing.
We must be able to pick up
the trail somewhere.
Charlie.
- Charlie...
- Peek-a-boo!
Damn fool.
I thought you
were gonna kiss me.
Fuck you.
Ah! Let me relieve you of this.
I've only just noticed
that's the only bag you have.
I guess you're gonna
have to buy gear
when you get to San Francisco.
I don't need equipment.
You're going to look
for gold in a river
without a shovel,
a pail, a cradle?
This is the great challenge
that all prospectors face.
How do I get at what's
just beneath my feet?
There's only two solutions,
of course:
hard labor and good luck.
I've been working
on a third solution
for many years.
One that is simpler, faster,
more certain.
And I think today, I found it.
You don't believe me.
No offense, Warm.
Frankly, I'm having a hard time.
You know it's funny,
people usually don't believe me.
And then when they do,
they want to kill me.
What is this idea?
Well, I told you I'm a chemist.
It's the idea of a chemist,
it's a formula.
Abracadabra?
No.
A divining substance.
A divining substance you...
you mix in the river water?
This formula, this diviner,
call it what you may...
...as a man of science,
have you ever tested it?
Eli, wake up.
- I don't feel good.
- What?
- I don't feel good.
- You don't feel good?
Oh, shit. What happened
to your face?
I don't know.
It's all swollen,
and your neck...
You look like one of those dogs.
What is it?
The... the mastiff.
Fuck you! I'm sick.
All right, sit up.
- Let me look at you.
- Ow!
Oh, God. Got blood
sloshing around in there.
Can you sit in your saddle?
I don't know.
I'm freezing.
I'm tired, Charlie.
- I know.
- I'm really tired.
Sleep.
I'm here.
There you are,
my sweeties.
Pa!
I've looked
all over for you.
Pa?
Come closer.
Let me take you in my arms.
No. No!
You okay?
What... What happened?
Well, this gentleman wandered
into camp last night.
He got your horse real good.
He went right for him.
Fuck. The horses?
It's the horses that woke me up.
What a fucking night.
I had a dream about Pa
last night.
Well, that's perfect.
I'm sick of this place.
It reeks of death.
Everything is fucking soaked.
Let's go.
Why you taking off your clothes?
Let's go.
I'm hot. I'm too hot.
Third house, on the right.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Shit.
Oh.
Are you looking for this?
Get back.
Get back!
What's the matter?
Are you not going to say,
"Listen, Hermann,
I can explain"?
Huh?
Pick that up.
Face that way.
Put it on your left hand.
Let me see your hand.
Good, now the other one.
If I take it off,
will you keep quiet?
Are we waiting for your friends?
How could you be so two-faced?
What taught you such duplicity?
Is it greed? I hadn't noticed
that in you, I really hadn't.
You keep quiet
or I'll put it back in.
You think they'll kill me?
They won't kill me.
Not right away.
What do you think
your Commodore wants?
He's the one who tried
to rob me in Oregon City.
He's after my formula.
- My invention.
- So what?
So your friends, your friends
are on their way here to
torture me.
To torture me,
did you know that?
They'll cut off my fingers,
they'll burn my feet...
gouge out my eyes.
They'll torture me till I talk.
Morris, can I ask you something?
Are you gonna watch?
Are you gonna write it down
in your book of adventures?
Warm...
I'm...
It's this world.
It's an abomination.
It's an abomination.
He stopped talking,
didn't say another word.
He watched the sun rise
through the window.
Let's go.
You don't think
you're making a mistake?
I don't know.
Probably.
How do we go
about this with Warm?
Like we usually do.
Well, usually
there's no Morris.
Morris hands over Warm.
We go someplace quiet
and finish the job.
You done?
- Yes.
- Okay.
You go round back.
You're a good boy.
You heard me!
Whoa!
Christ, Charlie, I almost shot!
- They're not here.
- Where are they?
They left, four days ago.
Morris left a note. Shit!
"Dear gentlemen,
I'm sorry to inform you
"that Hermann Kermit Warm has
made a precipitate departure.
"He must have hopped
a wagon train and left town.
"I am going after him
as of today. Good luck.
Sincerely, John Morris."
"Hermann Kermit Warm has made
a precipitate departure."
Who the fuck is he kidding?
Who's this pretentious
fucking asshole kidding?
Well, we tried.
So what now?
We keep on.
We said between Jacksonville
and Mayfield,
and we're only in Jacksonville.
God damn it, the job isn't
Jacksonville or Mayfield,
the job is to kill Warm.
Why don't you say it louder?
I don't think he heard you.
Wherever the fuck Warm is,
Mayfield or wherever,
we go there
and get it over with.
When will we be back home?
Once we're done
with the job, Eli.
I get the idea they're farther
and farther ahead of us.
How long were we in that forest?
Well, your spells and illnesses
didn't save us any time,
that's for sure.
What does that mean?
This is my fault?
Yeah, a little. Isn't it?
You want to talk about
your constant drunkenness?
Huh? That cost us any time?
Days when you can't even sit up
in the saddle straight?
The other morning
when you puked on yourself?
My spells.
My ass.
What we need to do
is to put an end
to all this barbarity.
Put an end to all this violence,
find a solution for it.
By inventing a new society.
A society where
the relationships
among men is governed
by respect
and the absence of profit.
Thus a society without greed.
Do you agree?
What does this have to do
with your formula?
You're looking for gold too,
like everyone else.
But, but... for me, the gold
is just a stepping stone.
John, I'm serious.
To found a new society.
One... one that will
consecrate itself
not to profit or gold,
but its spiritual development,
its own subsistence,
nothing more,
the education of its children.
And where do you intend
to create this society?
Dallas.
Northern Texas.
There are already many people
waiting there.
More are on the way from Europe.
Well, I can see I've lost you.
John?
John?
One evening, you told me
about your father,
that you left him because
there was no place for you.
As for me,
all I can say is that I...
I left my family out of hatred
and that my father was
the person
I despised most in this world.
I despised everything about him.
I sincerely thought
I had been freed
of all that until tonight.
Listening to you,
what do I realize?
That most of the things
that I thought I'd been doing
these past years, freely...
...the opinions that I thought
I had of my own volition...
...were in fact dictated
by my hatred towards that man.
I'm 35 years old and my...
...life is like
an empty cylinder.
My dear solicitor,
my dear friend,
after much thought,
I've changed my mind
about the measures
concerning my finances
related to you
in my last letter.
I accept my father's inheritance
and ask you to wire
3,000 dollars
to the Project Bank
in San Francisco.
Finally, I will not be
in Washington until next year.
I send you my friendship
and I shake your hand.
Yours, John Morris.
It's us. W&M, Warm and Morris.
Our company's insignia.
What do you think?
I like it.
Hey! Come on over here!
I'm glad to hear that.
I like it.
You think this man came here
because it was called Mayfield,
or they started calling it that
once he got here?
Maybe it all belongs to him.
Well, they sure like that name.
Hello, we're looking for a man
named Warm.
Short, dark skinned.
We think he passed through here
a few days ago.
I can't help you, mister.
No? What about a tall man,
brown hair, around 40?
I don't know, mister.
I don't get mixed up in it.
You don't
get mixed up in it, do ya?
Give us some whiskey.
Normal or Mayfield'
Normal. Bottle, two glasses.
You're looking for someone?
Because usually I'm the one
people ask for news in this town.
Who are you?
Mayfield.
Ah. The great man himself.
My brother and I are looking
for someone named Hermann Warm.
Short, dark skinned.
Probably passed through
what, five, six days ago?
Warm? No, I don't recall.
This man a friend of yours?
He ran out on a debt
to our employer,
the Commodore, in Oregon City.
We're the Sisters Brothers.
Good to meet you men.
You planning on staying long?
Hmm, well, that depends.
We'll be leaving first thing.
That depends.
Why do you keep telling
everyone your life story?
The Commodore,
the Sisters Brothers.
Did you not see how honored
that woman was to put us up?
And besides, I like to know if
our reputation has preceded us.
Unlike you, brother,
I'm proud of what I do.
What does that mean?
It means things will be
as usual:
you'll get drunk
as a fish tonight
and be sick as a dog tomorrow.
You're forgetting something.
I'm gonna fuck like a rabbit.
Another day up our ass.
Don't pay attention to him.
He's crabby and he's old.
- Thank you.
- He can pour his own liquor.
- Hey!
- Pardon me?
- He can pour his own liquor.
- Sure thing.
Hey!
Look who's awake! Look at that.
Big night with the big boy.
Where are you going?
Hey, have you noticed
how many raccoons
there are in this town,
like, dead raccoons?
It's a shitty town
to be a raccoon in.
How much just to talk?
We can act like
you're giving me this shawl
and you consider it
a valuable object.
Understand?
With a kind word.
- Here.
- No. With a kind...
What?
- I don't know what...
- Simple words.
"I thought it might get cold."
I'm leaving
- and you're giving me this.
- I...
"I thought
it might get cold."
- I thought it might get cold.
- No, you have to...
"This shawl..." Take it.
- "This shawl..."
- This shawl...
"..is a little piece of me
that's traveling with you."
This shawl is a little piece
of me...
You have to... with your eyes.
You have to look at it.
Like it means something.
This shawl is like
a little part of me
is traveling with you.
I put a drop of
my perfume on it.
Good.
"Can I steal a kiss from you?"
- Yes.
- No, you say that.
Can I steal a kiss from you?
Yes.
Yes.
You're not well?
- Did I hurt you?
- No. No, not at all. I...
You're just very kind...
...and gentle,
and I'm not used to it.
Please let me go.
- Let me go.
- But I'll pay you.
I need to go, please.
Be careful.
About what?
Mayfield.
Charlie?
Charlie?
Charlie? Charlie?
There you are.
- You have to go.
- Okay, okay, okay.
Charlie.
Charlie, wake up.
Charlie, you have to wake up.
They're coming. You get up.
- You get up!
- I don't want to.
You get up.
Mom says get up.
- Get up!
- Okay.
Put your boots on.
Come on.
Hey, Charlie, Charlie.
Can you shoot? Can you shoot?
I'm not at my best.
Don't you puke on me.
Getting ready to leave Mayfield?
All right.
Let's just calm down.
We have money.
Just tell us what Mayfield
is paying you.
I don't think you're going
to live long enough
to find that out. Boys?
It's funny that there's
so many few words
to describe things
here in Mayfield.
Charlie?
Mayfield's whiskey
and Mayfield's hotel.
- Mayfield's fucking Mayfield.
- Charlie?
- Mayfield bullshit.
- Please let me handle this.
Mayfield's raccoon...
- Look...
- Mayfield's horses.
My brother's drunk.
Why don't you just tell us
how much you want?
No, Eli...
It's not about the money.
It's about reputation.
Being the guys that killed
the Sisters Brothers.
You shut up now.
Prestige.
Oh, my God!
Warm said he needed an investor
for some prospecting scheme.
I couldn't make heads
or tails of his story.
I thought he was a clown,
but when I saw Morris...
...I reckoned if
the Commodore's interested,
it might be worthwhile.
Did Morris leave a letter
for us?
No. He was
just traveling with Warm.
- Really?
- Hm-hmm.
And why did you want to kill us?
I'll repeat and then I'll
strike.
When I realized Warm
had something of value,
I sent some guys after them
to bring him back.
So now there's more men
on Warm's tail?
Yeah.
Well, all right, Mayfield,
you're not gonna like
what comes next,
but it's the price to pay
for messing with our business.
Open your safe.
No, never.
Oh, shit.
I think you should
say something to them.
Uh...
After a series
of dramatic events...
...that she had only herself
to blame for,
um...
Mayfield is dead.
No, no, no, not like that.
You don't have anything
more positive to say?
My brother and I have
some good news for you people.
You can change the name
of your fucking town. Ya!
Anyway,
we know one thing now.
We know Morris
has joined the enemy.
I never liked that gentleman,
but I must say
this is the icing on the cake.
Still something
I don't understand.
What does this Warm have
that's so interesting?
The Commodore
sends men after him,
Mayfield sends men after him,
and now Morris falls in
with him. What does he have?
He has a formula.
It's a chemical product.
Supposedly,
you pour it in the river,
it lights up all the gold,
and you just bend down
to pick it up.
You don't believe that stuff,
Charlie, come on.
We've seen our fair share of
hucksters with miracle products.
Yeah, but the Commodore
believed in this one. Yeah.
Why didn't you tell me
about this before?
I had orders not to.
Anything else you're hiding
from me?
Well... The Commodore's orders
are clear cut.
Before we kill Warm,
we are to extract from him,
by whatever violent means
necessary,
the recipe for his formula.
- In other words, torture him?
- More or less.
Huh.
Hyah!
How far ahead do you
think Mayfield's guys got?
Well, if they're as stupid
as the last guys we killed,
I'd say we're about even.
I like it here.
There's a fortuitous energy.
What the hell
is a "fortuitous energy"?
You feel it, dummy.
You know what, brother?
I don't think you and I
have ever gone so far.
You mean between us,
in our conversation?
What are you talking about?
I meant in a straight line.
You and I have never gone
so far in a straight line.
Goddamn, this place is Babylon!
You know,
when we find Warm,
it won't be worth looking
for a quiet spot.
There isn't one in this whole
place.
More importantly,
nobody will care.
We can kill anyone
we want here.
Fuck! Everyone's mind
is focused on something else.
What is in there?
Hmm, hotel?
Let's stay there.
- Looks kind of expensive, no?
- Exactly.
That is the water closet
in there.
And that is the bathroom,
with hot water.
And here is your room.
Charlie, Charlie!
Come and see this!
Come here, look at this.
A bit of comfort
in uncertain times.
You know, I was thinking.
We could just go back to Oregon
City
and say we couldn't find them.
And tell what to the Commodore?
The truth. Morris ran off
with Warm, destination unknown.
We can't be expect
to find them
without a single clue
to guide us.
And we don't even know
if Mayfield's men
already found him.
Okay, what are you getting at,
brother?
Between what we made
in Mayfield,
what we have at home
and the rest,
we have enough to ditch
the Commodore for good.
Why would we do that?
You've never thought
about stopping?
- And do what?
- I don't know.
We could open a store together.
What store?
Look, we've had a good
long run, we're still alive,
we've a bit of our youth left.
It's a chance to get out.
A store? A way out?
What is this fucking nonsense?
Well...
...we've established
that you want to quit, so quit.
Meaning what?
If I stop, you'll continue?
Of course I continue.
I just need a new partner.
Rex has asked for work
in the past.
Rex?
Rex is a talking dog.
He's obedient like a dog.
I could ask Sanchez.
Sanchez?
You would really trust Sanchez
and that idiot Rex
to protect you?
Because you protect me?
Is that what you have
to tell yourself
to stay "nice guy Eli"?
But we are the Sisters Brothers.
The Sisters Brothers,
you and me.
Huh! You made your decision.
And it's fine by me.
It'll be welcome news
to the Commodore also.
Alright, so...
...we finish this last job
and then part ways.
Why do you have to say it
like that? "We'll part ways"?
How would you like me to say it?
If I stay with the Commodore
and you open your store...
You're saying we won't
see each other any more?
Of course we'll see each other,
any time I come to town.
If I need a shirt
or some under things.
Why do you have
to speak to me so rudely?
To choose those words?
To keep the level
of the conversation so low?
Is it 'cause you're drunk?
Here, I'll get it.
Hey, brother.
What are you doing here?
Hey, I've got some great
fucking news.
I know where they are.
What do you say to that?
- Did you hear me?
- Yes.
And you don't even care?
What's wrong with you?
You remember
what happened last night?
Yes. And?
- You remember that you hit me?
- I hit you?
I hit you?
Stop pretending and spare me
the "I don't remember" routine.
You hit me in public, Charlie,
so as sure as you're looking
at me right now, I'm leaving.
No, wait. Wait, wait, wait.
All right, what do you want?
This is about slapping
each other in public?
So I slap you,
you slap me back, we're even?
So go ahead, hit me. Hit me.
Jesus fucking Christ!
What is your goddamn problem?
I slapped you,
I didn't whack you in the head
- with a fucking shovel!
- See? You do remember.
I think I lost my hearing.
This morning I woke up
in a whorehouse
and I figured I might as well
stop by the claims office.
So I went down
and I asked if there was
a certain Hermann Kermit Warm
who'd recently staked a claim.
Nothing.
I was about to give up,
when boom, it hit me.
I asked if there was anything
in the name of John Morris.
And there it is:
American River, Folsom Lake.
Bingo. Now we know
where they're heading.
I'd like to see
how they go about it.
Oh, another idea
for a career change?
First selling shirts,
now prospecting?
I'm gonna go on ahead,
you do as you please.
Come on, Tub. Tub.
Hey, come here.
Hey. Folsom Lake?
Folsom Lake!
That-a-way.
How far?
About a day.
We'll get them tomorrow.
Come on, Tub.
Come on, Tub.
Eat some grass.
Oh, Tub, I'm sorry, my friend.
You think it's them?
Yes. They got here
faster than I thought.
- What now?
- We kill them.
- No, not that.
- Not what?
This is no way
to kill people.
We have to. Kill them,
bury them, no one finds them.
By the time it dawns on the
Commodore, we'll be far gone.
We don't work
for the Commodore anymore.
Then what are you doing here?
We... We don't work
for the Commodore anymore.
And it just came out?
Yeah.
You said, "We don't work
for the Commodore any more."
Yeah.
You're a genius, Eli.
A goddamn genius.
How did that even pop into your
head, just out of the blue?
Hey, Morris.
Morris. What are you
gonna do with us?
Ask us to run
and shoot us like rabbits?
Dump us in the forest?
What are we going
to do about them?
We leave them here.
They'll end up killing each
other or getting eaten alive.
I couldn't care less.
We take the horses
and the mules,
we extract what we can
from the river one last time,
and then we leave here
without ever coming back.
All right. Um, and leave
all our gear behind?
We travel light, ride up
to Sacramento, buy more gear
and ride up the river
from there.
Anyone there?
I said, anyone there?
Can you hear me?
Yes, what do you want?
We're working
the river downstream.
We're running out of supplies.
You've got any for sale?
We'll pay you
San Francisco prices.
They don't look
like prospectors.
They're not prospectors.
I didn't hear
your answer.
'Cause I didn't give one.
Don't take a step closer.
Hermann, we have to fight.
Is your gun loaded?
Yes, I think so.
Well, take it out,
God damn it.
I told you not to move
and I won't tell you again.
We have nothing to sell.
Go back to where you came from!
Go to hell!
Hey, Morris. Hey.
Hey, don't leave us here.
Morris!
John, look out.
- Hermann! Hermann!
- I'm all right.
I'm all right.
Let us help you.
Let us help you!
Give us the keys,
you fucking idiots.
You don't stand
a fucking chance, come on.
John, we're badly outnumbered.
Are you waiting
for us all to get killed?
Over there!
Damn you!
Fuck.
Oh, man!
You think it's Mayfield's
raccoons?
Sure looks like 'em.
Hey, guys!
Before things sour,
we've got some news for you.
Mayfield is dead.
Fuck!
You'll never get paid. Do you
really think this is worth it?
As long as you can see us,
you shoot at them like crazy.
We make it to the other side
and you can't see us anymore,
stop shooting.
- Get it?
- Yep.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
Go.
Son of a bitch!
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name...
What are you talking about?
- Charlie?
- Huh?
- Charlie?
- Yeah.
If Morris agrees to it,
here is what I suggest.
You two keep half of what
you pull from the river,
with the remaining half
going to the company.
The company being you
and Morris?
Uh, yes.
Well, no, no, not quite.
The company
is our phalanstery project.
Phalan-what?
Phalanstery.
It's a community
we're founding, in Texas.
An ideal living space,
ruled by the laws
of true democracy and sharing.
Whatever you say.
- Does something bother you?
- Oh... That's your business.
Then we're agreed,
half of what you extract?
Fine with me.
I'm with him.
Excellent. John?
Don't ask my opinion, Hermann.
You know I don't agree
with what's going on here.
I'm still in, of course,
but I remain on my guard.
Why won't you look at me
when you say that?
Look at me,
you son of a bitch.
Gentlemen.
I am looking at you,
Charlie Sisters.
Do you want me
to tell you what I see?
That's quite enough,
please. Please?
I'm going to sleep.
Do your legs still hurt?
I'm all right.
Good night, Hermann.
Good night.
He's gonna have to change.
He doesn't trust you,
and you can't blame him.
He will change.
We'll all change.
We don't have any other choice.
It's the formula.
It's, uh... very caustic
in its purest form.
I thought diluting it would
make it harmless. I was wrong.
Next time we'll have to
grease up our skins beforehand.
So you... you prospected
already?
Two days ago.
Did it work?
Better than I had ever imagined.
Come on, Tub! Come on!
If you look at the back
of a horse long enough,
you get caught.
What are you doing?
What?
We can't sleep.
What's the point of me
standing guard
if you all don't go to sleep?
Charlie, come down
and join us. It'll do you good.
Come on.
Come on, there's no point.
We're not going to sleep.
Do you really believe
in that old two-bit
ideal society nonsense?
What do you want me to say?
I don't know...
but I'd say a guy
with a little bit of smarts
has to realize that it sounds
like solid-gold bullshit.
Why do you think I'm here?
Like us. For the gold.
Well, sure, for the gold.
What will you do with it?
Spend it, obviously.
You really think
you'll have time to?
With all the corpses
you've left behind,
the Commodore,
your famous drunkenness?
Your pockets are full to boot.
Something tells me you won't
be living to a ripe old age.
And would your ideal society
make a difference?
Well, I can't say for you.
But for me, yes.
Or it's a scam.
A trap for suckers.
Is that it?
Let me tell you something,
John Morris.
You are one goddamn arrogant
asshole.
Let me tell you
something, Charlie Sisters.
I don't care what you think.
That is to say if you think.
Shit.
Tub!
Tub?
Tub?
Tub?
Eli.
What are you doing down here?
Nothing much.
I'm headed up to the dam.
Going to see
if the water's settled.
You see that?
Yeah. I get the impression
Charlie's changing.
Hmm.
Oh, you mean he's not going
to try and kill us anymore?
It's a little strange,
me talking to you about this,
isn't it?
It's better,
facing up to things.
You know,
I once asked John Morris
how he ended up working
for the Commodore.
And he said something
along the lines of,
he wanted to break
free from his family,
wanted to seek
a sense of adventure.
And I thought, those reasons
are honest enough.
How about you?
How did you end up here?
Eh...
Does my question upset you?
No. No, it's just a long story.
Charlie was always violent.
And when he got in a fight,
it usually ended badly.
And when you kill a man,
you end up with his father
or his brother
or his friends on your tail,
and you have to start
all over again.
One thing leads to another...
and I had to help him.
He's my brother.
You all right?
Sit down.
I... I don't know.
I don't know.
It's, uh... probably the heat.
Sit here for a moment.
It'll pass.
I'm sorry.
I lost my horse.
He died, I mean.
Tub's dead.
He was a middling horse, but...
Just didn't expect it
to affect me like this.
When we were kids...
...Charlie killed our father.
And I'm the older one.
It should have been me.
Do you regret that?
Yes.
'Cause after that,
Charlie was never the same.
It was a very pleasant day,
wasn't it?
Hmm.
You get on well with Warm?
And you with Morris?
What did you talk about?
Um...
About us, about the Commodore.
About Pa.
He's an easy man to talk to.
You know...
I've been thinking about
something.
What do you think the Commodore
is gonna do
when he realizes
we're not coming back?
He'll send men after us.
We'll have to get rid of 'em.
And the ones after that,
and all the ones he sends
on our trail.
And to think you wanted to stop.
We've got a season of blood
ahead of us.
Then, sooner or later,
to put an end to it...
...we'll have to kill
the Commodore.
And after that?
You're gonna take his place?
Charlie?
Are you gonna take
the Commodore's place?
How long have you been
thinking about it?
Once you've emptied
the solution...
Morris and I will agitate
the water
to increase the field
of illumination.
Now once the formula starts
to activate,
grab your buckets and get to
work.
Not a moment to lose.
Ready, John?
- Ready.
- Ready.
And stop.
What's going on, Warm?
Just wait.
There, there!
Look!
Yes!
Gentlemen, remember.
If you start to feel the burn,
take a moment and wash off.
Careful, careful.
Charlie, come wash off.
- Come on.
- Wait.
Here.
It's going away.
It's going away.
- What was that?
- What?
- It's going away.
- It's going away.
What are you doing?
Charlie, what are you doing?
We have to throw it all in!
No, Charlie. Charlie!
Put that down!
- John!
- Charlie, you damn fool!
John!
- Hermann, no!
- John!
Charlie!
John! John! Close your eyes.
Come on,
we're gonna wash it off!
Charlie!
Charlie?
Charlie?
Help.
Help.
Help me.
Help me.
Help me.
Hermann?
- Huh?
- Can I do something for you?
Morris.
Is that you, Morris?
Yes, it's me.
Oh, John,
where did you disappear to?
I was out getting some firewood.
Oh, John.
I feel I've known you
a long time.
I'm sorry you died before me.
I... I wanted to help you.
I wanted to be your friend.
You are my friend, Hermann.
Thank you.
I must confess
that the very happiest moments
of my life
have been spent in the
wilderness of the far west
with the plentiful supply
of dry pine logs on the fire.
I would not...
I would sit cross legged,
enjoying the genial warmth,
and watch the blue smoke
as it curled upwards.
Scarcely did I ever wish
to change such hours of freedom
for all the luxuries of
civilized life.
Tighter.
What are you doing here?
Sir, there are some men...
Tell them to wait here.
Sir, there are men
out there asking about you.
Wha... what men?
In the street, three of 'em.
Rex. Shit!
Eli?
Yes!
Is it true
Charlie's out of the game?
- What do you want?
- Me? Nothing.
The Commodore sent me.
- Is there a back door?
- Yeah.
He's growing impatient.
All right, go, go, go, go, go.
Charlie, Charlie, get up.
We gotta go.
- No.
- Yeah, come on!
Come on out
so we can talk about it.
No.
All right.
Hey, did you hear me?
Yeah, I'm coming.
Get out of here.
Shit.
Do I have to come in
and get you?
I'm coming out!
First you toss your guns
and come out
with your hands up. Good.
God damn.
Fucking bastard.
Are there others behind you?
Stop it, stop.
Just give me...
Come on. Let's go.
Come on, Charlie.
Go hide the horses.
Go on, go hide the horses!
Shh!
Shh! Shh!
Shh! Come on.
Come on, come on.
Shh! Shh!
Hold still, Charlie.
You want some of this?
Rex and Sanchez and those
other guys we didn't even know.
You really think it's a good
idea
to go back up north?
Well, you know very well
why we're going north.
And you know
what we still have left to do.
I lost the hand
that I work with.
You'll be on your own on this.
Are you ashamed of me?
Do you mean what you're saying?
Things have changed so much.
In a week,
we'll be in Oregon City
and I'll kill the Commodore.
Hey, have you noticed
how long it's been
since anyone tried to kill us?
I don't know.
Three or four days?
Don't you find that strange?
Come on.
You walk in the front door.
Take the staircase on
the right, go up, make a left.
His office is the second door
on the left.
How many guys are up there
with him usually?
Usually there's a guy sitting
right outside the office.
And one in the room
farther down.
Your remembrances.
Fuck!
You must be disappointed.
Yeah, kinda.
Sir? I think no one else
may be coming.
May we close the casket?
Sure.
Hold on.
Sir, please!
Just making sure.
Think she's changed a lot?
Not as much as us.
Check this out.
Whoa!
Hey, if you come any closer,
I'll shoot you!
It's us, Ma.
It's your sons.
It's Charlie and Eli.
My sons?
Oh, my God!
Well, why, why did you come...
Why did you come back?
To see you, Ma.
If you came here to hide
or to run away from something,
you just turn around.
I don't wanna see ya.
No, we're just tired, Ma.
We just want to come home.
We just came here
to see you. I swear.
Please?
You smell bad.
I see you're missing something.
Talk about that later.
Coffee?
Thank you.
You know, uh...
I wasn't expecting you,
I guess you know that.
You, you know that?
Oh, it's hot.
Too hot?
Too hot?
No, it's good, yeah.
Hey!
This is the Sisters Brothers.
The Commodore sent us.
He knows you have Blount.
Hand him over
and the rest of you will live.
Oh, Jesus.
Goddamn!
I can't see shit.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
Okay.
Fuck. It's not him.
Kick it.
Holy shit!
Blount? Blount?
No! No!
Please!
Charlie.
Hey, did you get him?
Yeah, he's dead.
- The barn.
- What?
The barn!
- What are you doing?
- I'm not walking home.
Eli! Eli!
Don't be fucking stupid!
Let's go!
Come on! They're
just fucking horses! Eli!
Eli!
How many you think
we killed?
I don't know.
Six, seven?
What?
Well, we fucked
that up real good.
What did the Commodore say?
Did you mention the horses?
Let's go get a drink.
He said
if there'd been a lead man,
we wouldn't have had problems
at the Blount ranch.
He says for the next job,
we need to have a lead man.
What's it mean
about money?
It means more for me.
No. My money, I mean.
Same as before?
Well, no. Less, obviously.
If the Commodore wants to pay
for a lead man, that's fine.
But it's bad business
to short the man underneath.
You're not asking
what the job is?
No.
Are you pouting?
Hey.
Fuck off, we're not done yet.
I'll tell you anyways.
We have to go south
and find Morris.
- The Commodore's John Morris?
- Mm-hmm.
Why do we have to find Morris?
He's after a prospector
named Hermann Kermit Warm.
Great. He can find him
and kill him, then.
End of story.
Morris is a scout,
he's not a killer.
The mission is, Morris finds
Warm, he holds him,
we come in and finish the job.
That's the mission.
What about the horses?
What's your goddamn problem
with the horses?
The Commodore told us he would
get us new horses.
Isn't that what he did?
No. For you he got a new horse.
For me, he made room
in his stable
and got rid of some horse meat.
Don't you think we
should talk about this later?
No, I don't need
the horse later.
I need it now, for the job.
The horse is fine.
Stop being a baby.
Is it the words
"go halves" you don't like?
The lead man is paying.
- It's open.
- Thanks.
Hyah! Hyah!
Hey, come cut the back
of this for me.
Just cut it off.
You look funny.
What did this
Hermann Warm do?
He stole something
from the Commodore.
Don't you find it strange,
all these men
foolish enough to steal
from such a dangerous man?
How do they even steal
anything at all?
We know how cautious
the Commodore is.
Caution has nothing
to do with it.
He does business
in every corner of the country,
even overseas.
The man can't be
everywhere at once.
It stands to reason
he'd be victimized.
Victimized?
Yes, victimized.
The Commodore is victimized?
Well, what would you call it?
If a man is forced
to protect his fortune
with the likes of us,
what would you call it?
Not victimized.
You're not gonna start
nitpicking
over every word, are you?
What's your problem?
Are you upset?
You're upset because
I'm the lead man? Is that it?
If that's it, say so,
but stop splitting hairs.
I'm not splitting hairs.
You're using a strange word,
and I'm making you take notice.
Tell me something.
Could it be your
Miss Emilia Partridge?
What are you talking about?
Could it be the schoolteacher
that gave you
that silly red scarf?
The one you keep folding
and unfolding in secret.
It's called a shawl.
Am I not entitled
to any privacy?
- You made plans with her?
- Plans?
Start a family, have children,
marry her, something like that.
I don't know.
Why are you so interested
all of a sudden?
I was just wondering
about family.
You remember how Pa was with Ma?
Yes, Charlie, I remember.
Makes you think.
You're not scared
to reproduce yourself?
You do realize that our father
was stark-raving mad
and we got his foul blood
in our veins?
Our father drank, Charlie.
Touch.
That was his gift to us.
That blood.
That's why we're good
at what we do.
The wheel of the wagon!
Get that wheel down.
Pull!
- Come on, heave!
- Ho!
- Heave!
- Ho!
Come on, pull!
Harder!
- Pull!
- Pull!
Forty cents, half a day.
Want some water?
May 15th. Myrtle Creek, Oregon.
Want a little bit more
of that...?
The gold rush has made the
detective's job much easier.
When you look
for a woman, a man,
a horse or a dog,
just follow the gold.
And soon enough, you'll find
whom or what you're after.
Hermann Kermit Warm.
Eats messily...
five foot six, lean,
dark skin, no friends,
no baggage, no money.
Sheamus, do you have
any cigarettes?
No, I don't got any more.
Sisters.
S-I-S-T-E-R-S, like "sisters."
No, uh, nothing.
I would have remembered.
Well, let's hope no news
is good news.
What's the next town
on the trail?
Myrtle Creek.
- How far?
- Two days.
Does that interest you, sir?
What is it?
It's a toothbrush, sir.
To keep your teeth longer
and your breath fresher,
and you use it with this powder.
Thank you.
Hey.
What kind of boots do you have?
I'll be right with you, sir.
What size do you take, sir?
Hmm.
It's good. Is it vegetables?
Borscht.
- I taste dill.
- Borscht.
Get out!
Stop!
- Get outta here!
- Five, six...
Seven, eight, nine...
Oh, where did you go?
Where did you go?
Go home, you fools.
Fucking cowards!
Oh come on!
No one wants
to measure themselves up
against Charlie Sisters?
No one, really?
- Stand up. Come on.
- Wait.
I'm okay.
Don't judge me, please.
Some days we're stronger
than others.
More planks!
May 17th, Wolf Creek.
I travel through places that
didn't exist three months ago.
First there are tents,
then houses.
Then two months later,
shops with women
fiercely discussing
the price of flour.
I found this line by Thoreau.
"This town too lies out..."
Have we seen each other before?
We know each other.
No, I don't think so.
You were in Myrtle Creek
two days ago.
Yes, I was,
like many other folk.
Oh. Are you heading
to San Francisco?
No, just to Jacksonville.
To work?
- Yes.
- Oh.
Remember when that bull
charged in the theater?
You?
San Francisco?
Gold?
Yes, like many other folk.
May I tell you something, sir?
Of course.
Typically, when a man wishes
another man good day,
he smiles while facing
the other person;
but once he passes by,
the smile drops from his face.
Not you.
Your smile remains on your lips
after you've turned away.
Well, I... hadn't noticed.
It's common courtesy.
Not only that.
Not everybody does it.
You... take a genuine pleasure
in communing with others.
Am I mistaken?
I honestly do not know.
Would you like
to join me for lunch?
I would love to,
but I'm hard up at the moment.
As my guest, of course.
What takes you to Jacksonville?
Business to settle. I'm meeting
two associates there.
How are you making your way
down south?
Uh, I have a seat
in a covered wagon.
How long till you get to Frisco?
The question is not how long
before I get there,
the question is what state
will I be in when I do, if I do?
To be honest with you...
...my faith in my hosts
is very limited.
They've rifled through
my belongings several times.
Whenever I take out my money,
their eyes are like daggers.
Mr. Warm! You ought to not
endanger yourself in that way.
You have to be more careful
than that.
What other choice do I have?
Fifty, horseshoes included.
Thirty-five.
No, 35 is for a mule.
Forty, with saddle bag
and shoes.
Listen, you want to buy a horse,
you pay the price for a horse.
You're never gonna sell
this horse.
Not at 50, not at 40.
She has a bad hip.
Anyone would see that
with an eye. Forty.
- Forty.
- What...?
Gentlemen, I have found him.
I have managed to make
his acquaintance
and have arranged
to travel with him.
If all goes well,
we should be in Jacksonville
in seven days.
I will try to hold him
until your arrival
and find a secluded place
to hand him over.
"Make haste. John Morris."
Well, chalk one up for Morris.
Even if I don't like
the "make haste."
Who does that asshole
think he is?
When did they pass through?
Four days ago.
Is there a faster way
to Jacksonville, off trail?
Well, it's rougher
to go up the mountains,
but you'll save
a couple of days.
The rain muddied it
all up. I can't see a thing.
We must be able to pick up
the trail somewhere.
Charlie.
- Charlie...
- Peek-a-boo!
Damn fool.
I thought you
were gonna kiss me.
Fuck you.
Ah! Let me relieve you of this.
I've only just noticed
that's the only bag you have.
I guess you're gonna
have to buy gear
when you get to San Francisco.
I don't need equipment.
You're going to look
for gold in a river
without a shovel,
a pail, a cradle?
This is the great challenge
that all prospectors face.
How do I get at what's
just beneath my feet?
There's only two solutions,
of course:
hard labor and good luck.
I've been working
on a third solution
for many years.
One that is simpler, faster,
more certain.
And I think today, I found it.
You don't believe me.
No offense, Warm.
Frankly, I'm having a hard time.
You know it's funny,
people usually don't believe me.
And then when they do,
they want to kill me.
What is this idea?
Well, I told you I'm a chemist.
It's the idea of a chemist,
it's a formula.
Abracadabra?
No.
A divining substance.
A divining substance you...
you mix in the river water?
This formula, this diviner,
call it what you may...
...as a man of science,
have you ever tested it?
Eli, wake up.
- I don't feel good.
- What?
- I don't feel good.
- You don't feel good?
Oh, shit. What happened
to your face?
I don't know.
It's all swollen,
and your neck...
You look like one of those dogs.
What is it?
The... the mastiff.
Fuck you! I'm sick.
All right, sit up.
- Let me look at you.
- Ow!
Oh, God. Got blood
sloshing around in there.
Can you sit in your saddle?
I don't know.
I'm freezing.
I'm tired, Charlie.
- I know.
- I'm really tired.
Sleep.
I'm here.
There you are,
my sweeties.
Pa!
I've looked
all over for you.
Pa?
Come closer.
Let me take you in my arms.
No. No!
You okay?
What... What happened?
Well, this gentleman wandered
into camp last night.
He got your horse real good.
He went right for him.
Fuck. The horses?
It's the horses that woke me up.
What a fucking night.
I had a dream about Pa
last night.
Well, that's perfect.
I'm sick of this place.
It reeks of death.
Everything is fucking soaked.
Let's go.
Why you taking off your clothes?
Let's go.
I'm hot. I'm too hot.
Third house, on the right.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Shit.
Oh.
Are you looking for this?
Get back.
Get back!
What's the matter?
Are you not going to say,
"Listen, Hermann,
I can explain"?
Huh?
Pick that up.
Face that way.
Put it on your left hand.
Let me see your hand.
Good, now the other one.
If I take it off,
will you keep quiet?
Are we waiting for your friends?
How could you be so two-faced?
What taught you such duplicity?
Is it greed? I hadn't noticed
that in you, I really hadn't.
You keep quiet
or I'll put it back in.
You think they'll kill me?
They won't kill me.
Not right away.
What do you think
your Commodore wants?
He's the one who tried
to rob me in Oregon City.
He's after my formula.
- My invention.
- So what?
So your friends, your friends
are on their way here to
torture me.
To torture me,
did you know that?
They'll cut off my fingers,
they'll burn my feet...
gouge out my eyes.
They'll torture me till I talk.
Morris, can I ask you something?
Are you gonna watch?
Are you gonna write it down
in your book of adventures?
Warm...
I'm...
It's this world.
It's an abomination.
It's an abomination.
He stopped talking,
didn't say another word.
He watched the sun rise
through the window.
Let's go.
You don't think
you're making a mistake?
I don't know.
Probably.
How do we go
about this with Warm?
Like we usually do.
Well, usually
there's no Morris.
Morris hands over Warm.
We go someplace quiet
and finish the job.
You done?
- Yes.
- Okay.
You go round back.
You're a good boy.
You heard me!
Whoa!
Christ, Charlie, I almost shot!
- They're not here.
- Where are they?
They left, four days ago.
Morris left a note. Shit!
"Dear gentlemen,
I'm sorry to inform you
"that Hermann Kermit Warm has
made a precipitate departure.
"He must have hopped
a wagon train and left town.
"I am going after him
as of today. Good luck.
Sincerely, John Morris."
"Hermann Kermit Warm has made
a precipitate departure."
Who the fuck is he kidding?
Who's this pretentious
fucking asshole kidding?
Well, we tried.
So what now?
We keep on.
We said between Jacksonville
and Mayfield,
and we're only in Jacksonville.
God damn it, the job isn't
Jacksonville or Mayfield,
the job is to kill Warm.
Why don't you say it louder?
I don't think he heard you.
Wherever the fuck Warm is,
Mayfield or wherever,
we go there
and get it over with.
When will we be back home?
Once we're done
with the job, Eli.
I get the idea they're farther
and farther ahead of us.
How long were we in that forest?
Well, your spells and illnesses
didn't save us any time,
that's for sure.
What does that mean?
This is my fault?
Yeah, a little. Isn't it?
You want to talk about
your constant drunkenness?
Huh? That cost us any time?
Days when you can't even sit up
in the saddle straight?
The other morning
when you puked on yourself?
My spells.
My ass.
What we need to do
is to put an end
to all this barbarity.
Put an end to all this violence,
find a solution for it.
By inventing a new society.
A society where
the relationships
among men is governed
by respect
and the absence of profit.
Thus a society without greed.
Do you agree?
What does this have to do
with your formula?
You're looking for gold too,
like everyone else.
But, but... for me, the gold
is just a stepping stone.
John, I'm serious.
To found a new society.
One... one that will
consecrate itself
not to profit or gold,
but its spiritual development,
its own subsistence,
nothing more,
the education of its children.
And where do you intend
to create this society?
Dallas.
Northern Texas.
There are already many people
waiting there.
More are on the way from Europe.
Well, I can see I've lost you.
John?
John?
One evening, you told me
about your father,
that you left him because
there was no place for you.
As for me,
all I can say is that I...
I left my family out of hatred
and that my father was
the person
I despised most in this world.
I despised everything about him.
I sincerely thought
I had been freed
of all that until tonight.
Listening to you,
what do I realize?
That most of the things
that I thought I'd been doing
these past years, freely...
...the opinions that I thought
I had of my own volition...
...were in fact dictated
by my hatred towards that man.
I'm 35 years old and my...
...life is like
an empty cylinder.
My dear solicitor,
my dear friend,
after much thought,
I've changed my mind
about the measures
concerning my finances
related to you
in my last letter.
I accept my father's inheritance
and ask you to wire
3,000 dollars
to the Project Bank
in San Francisco.
Finally, I will not be
in Washington until next year.
I send you my friendship
and I shake your hand.
Yours, John Morris.
It's us. W&M, Warm and Morris.
Our company's insignia.
What do you think?
I like it.
Hey! Come on over here!
I'm glad to hear that.
I like it.
You think this man came here
because it was called Mayfield,
or they started calling it that
once he got here?
Maybe it all belongs to him.
Well, they sure like that name.
Hello, we're looking for a man
named Warm.
Short, dark skinned.
We think he passed through here
a few days ago.
I can't help you, mister.
No? What about a tall man,
brown hair, around 40?
I don't know, mister.
I don't get mixed up in it.
You don't
get mixed up in it, do ya?
Give us some whiskey.
Normal or Mayfield'
Normal. Bottle, two glasses.
You're looking for someone?
Because usually I'm the one
people ask for news in this town.
Who are you?
Mayfield.
Ah. The great man himself.
My brother and I are looking
for someone named Hermann Warm.
Short, dark skinned.
Probably passed through
what, five, six days ago?
Warm? No, I don't recall.
This man a friend of yours?
He ran out on a debt
to our employer,
the Commodore, in Oregon City.
We're the Sisters Brothers.
Good to meet you men.
You planning on staying long?
Hmm, well, that depends.
We'll be leaving first thing.
That depends.
Why do you keep telling
everyone your life story?
The Commodore,
the Sisters Brothers.
Did you not see how honored
that woman was to put us up?
And besides, I like to know if
our reputation has preceded us.
Unlike you, brother,
I'm proud of what I do.
What does that mean?
It means things will be
as usual:
you'll get drunk
as a fish tonight
and be sick as a dog tomorrow.
You're forgetting something.
I'm gonna fuck like a rabbit.
Another day up our ass.
Don't pay attention to him.
He's crabby and he's old.
- Thank you.
- He can pour his own liquor.
- Hey!
- Pardon me?
- He can pour his own liquor.
- Sure thing.
Hey!
Look who's awake! Look at that.
Big night with the big boy.
Where are you going?
Hey, have you noticed
how many raccoons
there are in this town,
like, dead raccoons?
It's a shitty town
to be a raccoon in.
How much just to talk?
We can act like
you're giving me this shawl
and you consider it
a valuable object.
Understand?
With a kind word.
- Here.
- No. With a kind...
What?
- I don't know what...
- Simple words.
"I thought it might get cold."
I'm leaving
- and you're giving me this.
- I...
"I thought
it might get cold."
- I thought it might get cold.
- No, you have to...
"This shawl..." Take it.
- "This shawl..."
- This shawl...
"..is a little piece of me
that's traveling with you."
This shawl is a little piece
of me...
You have to... with your eyes.
You have to look at it.
Like it means something.
This shawl is like
a little part of me
is traveling with you.
I put a drop of
my perfume on it.
Good.
"Can I steal a kiss from you?"
- Yes.
- No, you say that.
Can I steal a kiss from you?
Yes.
Yes.
You're not well?
- Did I hurt you?
- No. No, not at all. I...
You're just very kind...
...and gentle,
and I'm not used to it.
Please let me go.
- Let me go.
- But I'll pay you.
I need to go, please.
Be careful.
About what?
Mayfield.
Charlie?
Charlie?
Charlie? Charlie?
There you are.
- You have to go.
- Okay, okay, okay.
Charlie.
Charlie, wake up.
Charlie, you have to wake up.
They're coming. You get up.
- You get up!
- I don't want to.
You get up.
Mom says get up.
- Get up!
- Okay.
Put your boots on.
Come on.
Hey, Charlie, Charlie.
Can you shoot? Can you shoot?
I'm not at my best.
Don't you puke on me.
Getting ready to leave Mayfield?
All right.
Let's just calm down.
We have money.
Just tell us what Mayfield
is paying you.
I don't think you're going
to live long enough
to find that out. Boys?
It's funny that there's
so many few words
to describe things
here in Mayfield.
Charlie?
Mayfield's whiskey
and Mayfield's hotel.
- Mayfield's fucking Mayfield.
- Charlie?
- Mayfield bullshit.
- Please let me handle this.
Mayfield's raccoon...
- Look...
- Mayfield's horses.
My brother's drunk.
Why don't you just tell us
how much you want?
No, Eli...
It's not about the money.
It's about reputation.
Being the guys that killed
the Sisters Brothers.
You shut up now.
Prestige.
Oh, my God!
Warm said he needed an investor
for some prospecting scheme.
I couldn't make heads
or tails of his story.
I thought he was a clown,
but when I saw Morris...
...I reckoned if
the Commodore's interested,
it might be worthwhile.
Did Morris leave a letter
for us?
No. He was
just traveling with Warm.
- Really?
- Hm-hmm.
And why did you want to kill us?
I'll repeat and then I'll
strike.
When I realized Warm
had something of value,
I sent some guys after them
to bring him back.
So now there's more men
on Warm's tail?
Yeah.
Well, all right, Mayfield,
you're not gonna like
what comes next,
but it's the price to pay
for messing with our business.
Open your safe.
No, never.
Oh, shit.
I think you should
say something to them.
Uh...
After a series
of dramatic events...
...that she had only herself
to blame for,
um...
Mayfield is dead.
No, no, no, not like that.
You don't have anything
more positive to say?
My brother and I have
some good news for you people.
You can change the name
of your fucking town. Ya!
Anyway,
we know one thing now.
We know Morris
has joined the enemy.
I never liked that gentleman,
but I must say
this is the icing on the cake.
Still something
I don't understand.
What does this Warm have
that's so interesting?
The Commodore
sends men after him,
Mayfield sends men after him,
and now Morris falls in
with him. What does he have?
He has a formula.
It's a chemical product.
Supposedly,
you pour it in the river,
it lights up all the gold,
and you just bend down
to pick it up.
You don't believe that stuff,
Charlie, come on.
We've seen our fair share of
hucksters with miracle products.
Yeah, but the Commodore
believed in this one. Yeah.
Why didn't you tell me
about this before?
I had orders not to.
Anything else you're hiding
from me?
Well... The Commodore's orders
are clear cut.
Before we kill Warm,
we are to extract from him,
by whatever violent means
necessary,
the recipe for his formula.
- In other words, torture him?
- More or less.
Huh.
Hyah!
How far ahead do you
think Mayfield's guys got?
Well, if they're as stupid
as the last guys we killed,
I'd say we're about even.
I like it here.
There's a fortuitous energy.
What the hell
is a "fortuitous energy"?
You feel it, dummy.
You know what, brother?
I don't think you and I
have ever gone so far.
You mean between us,
in our conversation?
What are you talking about?
I meant in a straight line.
You and I have never gone
so far in a straight line.
Goddamn, this place is Babylon!
You know,
when we find Warm,
it won't be worth looking
for a quiet spot.
There isn't one in this whole
place.
More importantly,
nobody will care.
We can kill anyone
we want here.
Fuck! Everyone's mind
is focused on something else.
What is in there?
Hmm, hotel?
Let's stay there.
- Looks kind of expensive, no?
- Exactly.
That is the water closet
in there.
And that is the bathroom,
with hot water.
And here is your room.
Charlie, Charlie!
Come and see this!
Come here, look at this.
A bit of comfort
in uncertain times.
You know, I was thinking.
We could just go back to Oregon
City
and say we couldn't find them.
And tell what to the Commodore?
The truth. Morris ran off
with Warm, destination unknown.
We can't be expect
to find them
without a single clue
to guide us.
And we don't even know
if Mayfield's men
already found him.
Okay, what are you getting at,
brother?
Between what we made
in Mayfield,
what we have at home
and the rest,
we have enough to ditch
the Commodore for good.
Why would we do that?
You've never thought
about stopping?
- And do what?
- I don't know.
We could open a store together.
What store?
Look, we've had a good
long run, we're still alive,
we've a bit of our youth left.
It's a chance to get out.
A store? A way out?
What is this fucking nonsense?
Well...
...we've established
that you want to quit, so quit.
Meaning what?
If I stop, you'll continue?
Of course I continue.
I just need a new partner.
Rex has asked for work
in the past.
Rex?
Rex is a talking dog.
He's obedient like a dog.
I could ask Sanchez.
Sanchez?
You would really trust Sanchez
and that idiot Rex
to protect you?
Because you protect me?
Is that what you have
to tell yourself
to stay "nice guy Eli"?
But we are the Sisters Brothers.
The Sisters Brothers,
you and me.
Huh! You made your decision.
And it's fine by me.
It'll be welcome news
to the Commodore also.
Alright, so...
...we finish this last job
and then part ways.
Why do you have to say it
like that? "We'll part ways"?
How would you like me to say it?
If I stay with the Commodore
and you open your store...
You're saying we won't
see each other any more?
Of course we'll see each other,
any time I come to town.
If I need a shirt
or some under things.
Why do you have
to speak to me so rudely?
To choose those words?
To keep the level
of the conversation so low?
Is it 'cause you're drunk?
Here, I'll get it.
Hey, brother.
What are you doing here?
Hey, I've got some great
fucking news.
I know where they are.
What do you say to that?
- Did you hear me?
- Yes.
And you don't even care?
What's wrong with you?
You remember
what happened last night?
Yes. And?
- You remember that you hit me?
- I hit you?
I hit you?
Stop pretending and spare me
the "I don't remember" routine.
You hit me in public, Charlie,
so as sure as you're looking
at me right now, I'm leaving.
No, wait. Wait, wait, wait.
All right, what do you want?
This is about slapping
each other in public?
So I slap you,
you slap me back, we're even?
So go ahead, hit me. Hit me.
Jesus fucking Christ!
What is your goddamn problem?
I slapped you,
I didn't whack you in the head
- with a fucking shovel!
- See? You do remember.
I think I lost my hearing.
This morning I woke up
in a whorehouse
and I figured I might as well
stop by the claims office.
So I went down
and I asked if there was
a certain Hermann Kermit Warm
who'd recently staked a claim.
Nothing.
I was about to give up,
when boom, it hit me.
I asked if there was anything
in the name of John Morris.
And there it is:
American River, Folsom Lake.
Bingo. Now we know
where they're heading.
I'd like to see
how they go about it.
Oh, another idea
for a career change?
First selling shirts,
now prospecting?
I'm gonna go on ahead,
you do as you please.
Come on, Tub. Tub.
Hey, come here.
Hey. Folsom Lake?
Folsom Lake!
That-a-way.
How far?
About a day.
We'll get them tomorrow.
Come on, Tub.
Come on, Tub.
Eat some grass.
Oh, Tub, I'm sorry, my friend.
You think it's them?
Yes. They got here
faster than I thought.
- What now?
- We kill them.
- No, not that.
- Not what?
This is no way
to kill people.
We have to. Kill them,
bury them, no one finds them.
By the time it dawns on the
Commodore, we'll be far gone.
We don't work
for the Commodore anymore.
Then what are you doing here?
We... We don't work
for the Commodore anymore.
And it just came out?
Yeah.
You said, "We don't work
for the Commodore any more."
Yeah.
You're a genius, Eli.
A goddamn genius.
How did that even pop into your
head, just out of the blue?
Hey, Morris.
Morris. What are you
gonna do with us?
Ask us to run
and shoot us like rabbits?
Dump us in the forest?
What are we going
to do about them?
We leave them here.
They'll end up killing each
other or getting eaten alive.
I couldn't care less.
We take the horses
and the mules,
we extract what we can
from the river one last time,
and then we leave here
without ever coming back.
All right. Um, and leave
all our gear behind?
We travel light, ride up
to Sacramento, buy more gear
and ride up the river
from there.
Anyone there?
I said, anyone there?
Can you hear me?
Yes, what do you want?
We're working
the river downstream.
We're running out of supplies.
You've got any for sale?
We'll pay you
San Francisco prices.
They don't look
like prospectors.
They're not prospectors.
I didn't hear
your answer.
'Cause I didn't give one.
Don't take a step closer.
Hermann, we have to fight.
Is your gun loaded?
Yes, I think so.
Well, take it out,
God damn it.
I told you not to move
and I won't tell you again.
We have nothing to sell.
Go back to where you came from!
Go to hell!
Hey, Morris. Hey.
Hey, don't leave us here.
Morris!
John, look out.
- Hermann! Hermann!
- I'm all right.
I'm all right.
Let us help you.
Let us help you!
Give us the keys,
you fucking idiots.
You don't stand
a fucking chance, come on.
John, we're badly outnumbered.
Are you waiting
for us all to get killed?
Over there!
Damn you!
Fuck.
Oh, man!
You think it's Mayfield's
raccoons?
Sure looks like 'em.
Hey, guys!
Before things sour,
we've got some news for you.
Mayfield is dead.
Fuck!
You'll never get paid. Do you
really think this is worth it?
As long as you can see us,
you shoot at them like crazy.
We make it to the other side
and you can't see us anymore,
stop shooting.
- Get it?
- Yep.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
Go.
Son of a bitch!
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name...
What are you talking about?
- Charlie?
- Huh?
- Charlie?
- Yeah.
If Morris agrees to it,
here is what I suggest.
You two keep half of what
you pull from the river,
with the remaining half
going to the company.
The company being you
and Morris?
Uh, yes.
Well, no, no, not quite.
The company
is our phalanstery project.
Phalan-what?
Phalanstery.
It's a community
we're founding, in Texas.
An ideal living space,
ruled by the laws
of true democracy and sharing.
Whatever you say.
- Does something bother you?
- Oh... That's your business.
Then we're agreed,
half of what you extract?
Fine with me.
I'm with him.
Excellent. John?
Don't ask my opinion, Hermann.
You know I don't agree
with what's going on here.
I'm still in, of course,
but I remain on my guard.
Why won't you look at me
when you say that?
Look at me,
you son of a bitch.
Gentlemen.
I am looking at you,
Charlie Sisters.
Do you want me
to tell you what I see?
That's quite enough,
please. Please?
I'm going to sleep.
Do your legs still hurt?
I'm all right.
Good night, Hermann.
Good night.
He's gonna have to change.
He doesn't trust you,
and you can't blame him.
He will change.
We'll all change.
We don't have any other choice.
It's the formula.
It's, uh... very caustic
in its purest form.
I thought diluting it would
make it harmless. I was wrong.
Next time we'll have to
grease up our skins beforehand.
So you... you prospected
already?
Two days ago.
Did it work?
Better than I had ever imagined.
Come on, Tub! Come on!
If you look at the back
of a horse long enough,
you get caught.
What are you doing?
What?
We can't sleep.
What's the point of me
standing guard
if you all don't go to sleep?
Charlie, come down
and join us. It'll do you good.
Come on.
Come on, there's no point.
We're not going to sleep.
Do you really believe
in that old two-bit
ideal society nonsense?
What do you want me to say?
I don't know...
but I'd say a guy
with a little bit of smarts
has to realize that it sounds
like solid-gold bullshit.
Why do you think I'm here?
Like us. For the gold.
Well, sure, for the gold.
What will you do with it?
Spend it, obviously.
You really think
you'll have time to?
With all the corpses
you've left behind,
the Commodore,
your famous drunkenness?
Your pockets are full to boot.
Something tells me you won't
be living to a ripe old age.
And would your ideal society
make a difference?
Well, I can't say for you.
But for me, yes.
Or it's a scam.
A trap for suckers.
Is that it?
Let me tell you something,
John Morris.
You are one goddamn arrogant
asshole.
Let me tell you
something, Charlie Sisters.
I don't care what you think.
That is to say if you think.
Shit.
Tub!
Tub?
Tub?
Tub?
Eli.
What are you doing down here?
Nothing much.
I'm headed up to the dam.
Going to see
if the water's settled.
You see that?
Yeah. I get the impression
Charlie's changing.
Hmm.
Oh, you mean he's not going
to try and kill us anymore?
It's a little strange,
me talking to you about this,
isn't it?
It's better,
facing up to things.
You know,
I once asked John Morris
how he ended up working
for the Commodore.
And he said something
along the lines of,
he wanted to break
free from his family,
wanted to seek
a sense of adventure.
And I thought, those reasons
are honest enough.
How about you?
How did you end up here?
Eh...
Does my question upset you?
No. No, it's just a long story.
Charlie was always violent.
And when he got in a fight,
it usually ended badly.
And when you kill a man,
you end up with his father
or his brother
or his friends on your tail,
and you have to start
all over again.
One thing leads to another...
and I had to help him.
He's my brother.
You all right?
Sit down.
I... I don't know.
I don't know.
It's, uh... probably the heat.
Sit here for a moment.
It'll pass.
I'm sorry.
I lost my horse.
He died, I mean.
Tub's dead.
He was a middling horse, but...
Just didn't expect it
to affect me like this.
When we were kids...
...Charlie killed our father.
And I'm the older one.
It should have been me.
Do you regret that?
Yes.
'Cause after that,
Charlie was never the same.
It was a very pleasant day,
wasn't it?
Hmm.
You get on well with Warm?
And you with Morris?
What did you talk about?
Um...
About us, about the Commodore.
About Pa.
He's an easy man to talk to.
You know...
I've been thinking about
something.
What do you think the Commodore
is gonna do
when he realizes
we're not coming back?
He'll send men after us.
We'll have to get rid of 'em.
And the ones after that,
and all the ones he sends
on our trail.
And to think you wanted to stop.
We've got a season of blood
ahead of us.
Then, sooner or later,
to put an end to it...
...we'll have to kill
the Commodore.
And after that?
You're gonna take his place?
Charlie?
Are you gonna take
the Commodore's place?
How long have you been
thinking about it?
Once you've emptied
the solution...
Morris and I will agitate
the water
to increase the field
of illumination.
Now once the formula starts
to activate,
grab your buckets and get to
work.
Not a moment to lose.
Ready, John?
- Ready.
- Ready.
And stop.
What's going on, Warm?
Just wait.
There, there!
Look!
Yes!
Gentlemen, remember.
If you start to feel the burn,
take a moment and wash off.
Careful, careful.
Charlie, come wash off.
- Come on.
- Wait.
Here.
It's going away.
It's going away.
- What was that?
- What?
- It's going away.
- It's going away.
What are you doing?
Charlie, what are you doing?
We have to throw it all in!
No, Charlie. Charlie!
Put that down!
- John!
- Charlie, you damn fool!
John!
- Hermann, no!
- John!
Charlie!
John! John! Close your eyes.
Come on,
we're gonna wash it off!
Charlie!
Charlie?
Charlie?
Help.
Help.
Help me.
Help me.
Help me.
Hermann?
- Huh?
- Can I do something for you?
Morris.
Is that you, Morris?
Yes, it's me.
Oh, John,
where did you disappear to?
I was out getting some firewood.
Oh, John.
I feel I've known you
a long time.
I'm sorry you died before me.
I... I wanted to help you.
I wanted to be your friend.
You are my friend, Hermann.
Thank you.
I must confess
that the very happiest moments
of my life
have been spent in the
wilderness of the far west
with the plentiful supply
of dry pine logs on the fire.
I would not...
I would sit cross legged,
enjoying the genial warmth,
and watch the blue smoke
as it curled upwards.
Scarcely did I ever wish
to change such hours of freedom
for all the luxuries of
civilized life.
Tighter.
What are you doing here?
Sir, there are some men...
Tell them to wait here.
Sir, there are men
out there asking about you.
Wha... what men?
In the street, three of 'em.
Rex. Shit!
Eli?
Yes!
Is it true
Charlie's out of the game?
- What do you want?
- Me? Nothing.
The Commodore sent me.
- Is there a back door?
- Yeah.
He's growing impatient.
All right, go, go, go, go, go.
Charlie, Charlie, get up.
We gotta go.
- No.
- Yeah, come on!
Come on out
so we can talk about it.
No.
All right.
Hey, did you hear me?
Yeah, I'm coming.
Get out of here.
Shit.
Do I have to come in
and get you?
I'm coming out!
First you toss your guns
and come out
with your hands up. Good.
God damn.
Fucking bastard.
Are there others behind you?
Stop it, stop.
Just give me...
Come on. Let's go.
Come on, Charlie.
Go hide the horses.
Go on, go hide the horses!
Shh!
Shh! Shh!
Shh! Come on.
Come on, come on.
Shh! Shh!
Hold still, Charlie.
You want some of this?
Rex and Sanchez and those
other guys we didn't even know.
You really think it's a good
idea
to go back up north?
Well, you know very well
why we're going north.
And you know
what we still have left to do.
I lost the hand
that I work with.
You'll be on your own on this.
Are you ashamed of me?
Do you mean what you're saying?
Things have changed so much.
In a week,
we'll be in Oregon City
and I'll kill the Commodore.
Hey, have you noticed
how long it's been
since anyone tried to kill us?
I don't know.
Three or four days?
Don't you find that strange?
Come on.
You walk in the front door.
Take the staircase on
the right, go up, make a left.
His office is the second door
on the left.
How many guys are up there
with him usually?
Usually there's a guy sitting
right outside the office.
And one in the room
farther down.
Your remembrances.
Fuck!
You must be disappointed.
Yeah, kinda.
Sir? I think no one else
may be coming.
May we close the casket?
Sure.
Hold on.
Sir, please!
Just making sure.
Think she's changed a lot?
Not as much as us.
Check this out.
Whoa!
Hey, if you come any closer,
I'll shoot you!
It's us, Ma.
It's your sons.
It's Charlie and Eli.
My sons?
Oh, my God!
Well, why, why did you come...
Why did you come back?
To see you, Ma.
If you came here to hide
or to run away from something,
you just turn around.
I don't wanna see ya.
No, we're just tired, Ma.
We just want to come home.
We just came here
to see you. I swear.
Please?
You smell bad.
I see you're missing something.
Talk about that later.
Coffee?
Thank you.
You know, uh...
I wasn't expecting you,
I guess you know that.
You, you know that?
Oh, it's hot.
Too hot?
Too hot?
No, it's good, yeah.