Following a botched hit in London, Irish contract killers Ray and Ken are sent to the quaint Belgian city of Bruges and told to wait for further instructions from their high strung, foulmouthed employer Harry.
While Ken takes in the sights and historic medieval buildings, Ray is morose and withdrawn, disgruntled with the lack of local nightlife and wracked with guilt over his accidental killing of a child.
One night, while observing a film shoot with the dwarf actor Jimmy, Ray strikes up a romance with Chloë, a local drug dealer and thief moonlighting as a production assistant. Despite his budding romance with Chloë, Ray's guilt over his killing of a child haunts him at every waking moment. Ken finally receives a call from Harry, who orders him to kill Ray on the principle that the killing of a child – even accidentally – is beyond the pale. 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 is about to shoot himself – and stops him.
Ken disarms Ray and convinces him to avoid suicide, putting him on a train out of Bruges and advising him to get out of the business while he still can. Before Ray's train has travelled far from the town, he is arrested for his assault on a Canadian couple the previous evening during his date with Chloë. He is returned to Bruges.
Ken meets Harry for a drink before ascending the steps of Bruges' landmark belfry, where Ken offers his life in exchange for Ray's, declaring that Ray deserves a chance at redemption.
