Claim: The Coen brothers were the directors of Fargo.

Joel David Coen -LRB- born November 29 , 1954 -RRB- and Ethan Jesse Coen -LRB- born September 21 , 1957 -RRB- , collectively referred to as the Coen brothers , are American filmmakers . Their films span many genres and styles , which they frequently subvert or parody . Their best-reviewed works include Fargo -LRB- 1996 -RRB- , The Big Lebowski -LRB- 1998 -RRB- , No Country for Old Men -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , A Serious Man -LRB- 2009 -RRB- , True Grit -LRB- 2010 -RRB- , and Inside Llewyn Davis -LRB- 2013 -RRB- .   The brothers write , direct and produce their films jointly , although until The Ladykillers -LRB- 2004 -RRB- Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing . They often alternate top billing for their screenplays while sharing editing credits under the alias Roderick Jaynes . 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 duo also won the Palme d'Or for Barton Fink and were nominated for Fargo .   The Coen brothers have written a number of films they did not direct , including the biographical war drama Unbroken -LRB- 2014 -RRB- , the historical legal thriller Bridge of Spies -LRB- 2015 -RRB- , and lesser-known , commercially unsuccessful comedies such as Crimewave -LRB- 1985 -RRB- , The Naked Man -LRB- 1998 -RRB- and Gambit -LRB- 2012 -RRB- . Ethan is also a writer of short stories , theater and poetry .   The brothers 's films No Country for Old Men , A Serious Man and Inside Llewyn Davis have been ranked in the BBC 's 2016 poll of the greatest motion pictures since 2000 .