Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a 2007 crime drama written by Kelly Masterson and directed by Sidney Lumet, his last feature film before he died in 2011. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney. The title comes from the Irish saying: "May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows you're dead." The film unfolds non-linearly, repeatedly going back and forth in time, with some scenes shown from various points of view.

The film received critical acclaim, and was selected as one of 2007's ten most influential American films by the American Film Institute at the 2007 AFI Awards.

Note: The story is explained here in its chronological order, rather than as it is presented in the film.

Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a finance executive at a real estate firm in New York City. Facing an upcoming audit, which he knows will reveal that he has embezzled thousands from his employer, Andy decides to escape to Brazil (which the film claims has no extradition treaty with the United States), but desperately needs money to establish himself in Rio. Andy has spent all the money he has stolen paying for drugs, hence his need for a new and immediate source of cash to set up shop in Rio. His brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) needs money to pay child support (which he is three months' behind on) and his daughter's private school tuition. Meanwhile, Hank has been having a long-standing affair with Andy's wife, Gina (Marisa Tomei), who has been unsatisfied with her marriage. Of the two brothers, Hank is well-meaning, but weak-willed and cowardly, easily dominated by his stronger-willed older brother, Andy, who is a ruthless schemer. Andy in turn harbours enormous resentment that his younger and more attractive brother always received more love and affection from his parents' than he did during childhood.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (born July 23, 1967) is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films. He gradually gained recognition for his supporting work in a series of notable films, including Scent of a Woman (1992), Twister (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Almost Famous (2000), 25th Hour (2002), Cold Mountain (2003), and Mission: Impossible III (2006).

In 2005, Hoffman played the title role in the biographical film Capote (2005), for which he won multiple acting awards including an Academy Award for Best Actor. He received another two Academy Award nominations for his supporting work in Charlie Wilson's War (2007) and Doubt (2008). Other critically acclaimed films in recent years have included Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), The Savages (2007) and Synecdoche, New York (2008). In 2010, Hoffman made his feature film directorial debut with Jack Goes Boating‎.

Carter Benedict Burwell (born November 18, 1955) is an American composer of film scores.

Burwell was born in New York City, the son of Natalie (née Benedict), a math teacher, and Charles Burwell, who founded Thaibok Fabrics, Ltd. He graduated from King School in Stamford, Connecticut, and Harvard College, where he was a cartoonist for The Harvard Lampoon.

As a film composer, Burwell has had a long-working relationship with the Coen brothers, providing music for every film they have made (except for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, where he provided additional music to a score of traditional songs produced by T-Bone Burnett). He enjoys working with left-field directors, such as Spike Jonze. Among his best known film scores are Miller's Crossing (1990), And the Band Played On (1993), Conspiracy Theory (1997), Hamlet (2000), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007), In Bruges (2008), Twilight (2008) Where The Wild Things Are (2009), The Blind Side (2009), and Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011).