The body of Mexican Melquiades Estrada is found in a shallow grave in the desert, where it was hastily buried after being fatally shot by a Border Patrolman, Mike Norton (Barry Pepper). Making no attempt to solve the crime, the local Texan authorities rapidly transfer the corpse to a pauper's grave in the cemetery. Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones), a ranch foreman and Melquiades' best friend, takes it upon himself to hold Norton accountable. After forcing him to dig up the body at gunpoint, Pete heads across the remote Texan desert with his captive in tow and the body strapped to a mule. What follows is a dangerous and quixotic journey into Mexico, toward the third burial - and promised resting place - of Melquiades Estrada.

Three Burials marks the directorial debut of Tommy Lee Jones, and features a screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams). This dramatic and poetic story weaves past and present as it gradually reveals a great friendship, and the cost of a promise made and kept within that friendship. A modern day Western set against the stunning backdrop of West Texas, Jones? film explores the ongoing tensions between USA and Mexican relations as a result of the international border that splits both cultures within this part of the world.