The Coen brothers are involved in the film industry.
Joel David Coen ( born November 29 , 1954 ) and Ethan Jesse Coen ( born September 21 , 1957 ) , collectively referred to as the Coen brothers , are American filmmakers . They have been nominated for thirteen Academy Awards together , and individually for one award each , winning Best Original Screenplay for Fargo and Best Picture , Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for No Country for Old Men . The Coen brothers have written a number of films they did not direct , including the biographical war drama Unbroken ( 2014 ) , the historical legal thriller Bridge of Spies ( 2015 ) , and lesser-known , commercially unsuccessful comedies such as Crimewave ( 1985 ) , The Naked Man ( 1998 ) and Gambit ( 2012 ) . Fargo is a 1996 American black comedy crime thriller film written , produced , edited , and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen .