- We open on some long shots of the beautiful landscape of West Texas. Then we hear a voiceover by Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (played by Tommy Lee Jones).
- Sherriff Bell talks about how proud he is to be a Texan sheriff just like his dad and grandfather were. He reminisces about the good old days when sheriffs didn't even carry guns.
- (We would insert a joke here about Texans and their guns, but we have a policy of never making fun of the people with the guns.)
- Those good old days are apparently long gone, as Sheriff Bell talks about the horrible things he's seen as a sheriff, like this one guy who dreamed of killing people his whole life and said he'd do it again if he ever got out of prison. (Because people in the twentieth century never killed each other, or something?)
- Anyway, Sheriff Bell doesn't know what to make of this guy or his motives. He ends his opening speech by saying that he's not afraid of dying, but he is afraid of coming up against things he can't understand.