Money and Dogs are often important in the Coen’s films. Dogs all knowing in many instances, they appear to understand what is going on in the plot. Money, like violence, seems to move the plot forward in many of their movies. In Fargo money is what leads all the events taking place. The Big Lebowski “the dude” is always in the middle of a money transaction. Burn after reading evolves blackmail money, as does The Man Who Wasn’t There. Characters are often put into the situations they are in by chance. In Burn After Reading and No Country for Old Men the main characters happen upon valuable information or money, which gets them into a tough situation.