They become aware of a lost Army payroll amounting to $200,000 in gold, an absolute fortune, and set about locating it.
CW: scenes of violence and torture
The spaghettiest of Westerns this is a strange Odyssey.
All of the men are to different degrees, evil.
The Good and The Ugly have a long history and fill most of the movie, with The Bad more of a supporting role. Eastwood says little so it falls to Eli Wallach to carry it with a kind of goblin-esque comedy performance.
Really though it's a showcase for the horrors of war and the evil in men's hearts.
We see PoW camps, torture, columns of refugees, destroyed towns and futile military engagements. A series of supporting characters meet bad ends. There is no justice.
It's known for things like the famous standoff at the end but really it wouldn't be half the movie it is without all this nominally background stuff. This was the extended version and I think the extra scenes added worthwhile context.
Yes they get the gold but by then they have no souls.
10/10 rightfully a classic and not for the stuff you see in the clips.