Elwood Blues greets his brother, Joliet Jake, after Jake is released from the Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois. As they leave, Jake learns that Elwood traded the Cadillac, aka the “Blues Mobile,” to buy a microphone, and he is disgusted that his brother bought a Mount Prospect police car at auction to replace the other vehicle. To prove what a great car it is, Elwood floors the accelerator and clears an open drawbridge, crossing to a road on the other side. The brothers visit Sister Mary Stigmata at the Saint Helen of the Blessed Shroud Orphanage, where they were raised. The sister informs them that the church plans to sell the building rather than pay the new $5,000 county tax assessment. When Jake offers to donate the money, Sister Mary stipulates that she will not take stolen money. She criticizes their filthy language and bad attitudes, and warns them not to return until they have redeemed themselves. Curtis, the orphanage custodian, informs the brothers that the institution has eleven days to pay the tax, and suggests that they might visit Triple Rock Baptist Church. There, the Reverend Cleophus James sings, the congregation dances in the aisles, and Jake claims to see the light. Later, Jake suggests they reunite the Blues Brothers Band and raise the tax money through legitimate concerts. Elwood says the only hitch is that the band members have taken jobs, and their whereabouts are unknown. Elwood drives through a yellow light and state troopers signal the car to pull over. When the officers discover that Elwood is driving with a suspended license, the brothers speed away with the police in close pursuit. As the officers call for back up, the chase continues at a shopping mall. There, Elwood drives through several stores, creating various roadblocks that enable the brothers to evade the police. One trooper vows to arrest Elwood no matter what it takes. After the brothers escape, they hide the car, and take refuge in Jake’s room at a transient hotel. The next morning, Burton Mercer, a corrections officer, and state troopers visit the hotel, looking for the brothers. However, a mystery woman parked on the street blows up the building just as the troopers ambush Jake and Elwood, and the brothers walk away from the wreckage. Later, Jake and Elwood track down a few former bandmates at the Holiday Inn, performing as “Murph and the Magictones.” Murph, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Willie “Too Big” Hall, “Bones” Malone, and “Blue” Lou Marini are willing to restart the band, but they insist the group will not be complete without horn players such as “Mr. Fabulous,” who is the top Maître d’ at the Chez Paul restaurant, and Matt “Guitar” Murphy, who runs a successful soul food restaurant with his wife and employs “Blue” Lou Marini. When the brothers visit Mr. Fabulous at Chez Paul, he is not happy to see them. Jake and Elwood occupy a table in the restaurant dining room, ordering shrimp cocktail and a bottle of Dom Perignon. When surrounding diners complain about the brothers’ rude behavior, Jake warns Mr. Fabulous that he and Elwood will continue to disturb the clientele until Mr. Fabulous agrees to play with band, and he is persuaded. Traveling to the Soul Food Café, the brothers are stopped in traffic by a parade of Nazis. As the brothers proceed to crash their car into the gathering, the Nazis jump from a bridge to the water below to avoid being hit, and the head Nazi vows revenge. Meanwhile, Jake and Elwood arrive at the Soul Food Café to recruit Matt “Guitar” Murphy and “Blue” Lou, who are eager to play with the brothers despite threats from Matt’s wife. After the band buys instruments at Ray’s Music Exchange, they stop at a Howard Johnson restaurant. While Jake and Elwood use the pay phone to call booking agent, Maury Sline, the mystery woman shoots the propane tank next to the booth with her flamethrower. The explosion propels the booth into the air. However, it lands safely and the brothers collect the spare change lying on the ground. Elsewhere, a Nazi tracks down Elwood’s license plate, and the head Nazi instructs party members to monitor police scanners in their hunt for the brothers. On the road, Jake arbitrarily chooses a roadside inn called Bob’s Country Bunker to debut the Blues Brothers band, impersonating another band called the Good Ole Boys. They play blues but switch to country after being pelted with beer bottles from the audience. After they finish the set, owner Bob says their salary is $200, but they consumed $300 worth of beer. The musicians escape without paying, but Bob follows and shoots at them with his shotgun. Elwood floors the accelerator as state troopers recognize the speeding car, but before the pursuit begins, the troopers accidentally crash into Bob’s vehicle. Soon, Jake and Elwood convince Maury Sline to book them in a large hall called the Palace Hotel Ballroom, while Curtis recruits boys at the orphanage to publicize the fund-raiser concert. However, the brothers run out of gas and are late for their show. Before they arrive on stage, the brothers sabotage the patrol cars in the parking lot. Troopers station themselves around the hall, waiting to arrest Jake and Elwood. When the brothers perform, the crowd is enthusiastic. When Jake and Elwood exit the stage, the president of Clarion Records offers them a record contract, and gives them a $10,000 advance. Jake asks the president to deliver $1,400 to Ray’s Music Exchange and give the rest of the money to the band. Then, Jake instructs the band to play while the brothers escape. In the tunnels below the ballroom, the mystery woman confronts the brothers. She intends to kill them because Jake jilted her at their wedding. At first, Jake begs for mercy, then melts her anger with a kiss. During her momentary euphoria, the brothers escape. Hearing gunshots, the troopers return to their cars to find their car tires have exploded, while others give chase. Tucker McElroy, the leader of the Good Ole Boys, also joins the pursuit, but he finds his shoe is glued to the accelerator and crashes through a warehouse, and into the water. Meanwhile, Elwood abruptly exits the highway, causing a pile up of trooper cars. When the police scanner announces that the Blues brothers are being chased, the head Nazi is ready for revenge. Once the brothers enter the city limits, troopers, the city police force and officers in boats pursue them. Suddenly, the head Nazi, traveling in a Ford Pinto, joins the chase and follows the brothers down a stretch of closed highway. Elwood brakes to avoid falling off an unfinished road, then reverses the car and flies over the Nazi’s vehicle. In turn, the Pinto falls over the cliff, crashing into the pavement below. The brothers enter the Cook County Administration building on foot, and take the elevator to the eleventh floor, while law enforcement trails behind. At the tax assessor’s office, the clerk writes Jake and Elwood a receipt for their $5,000 for payment of the orphanage tax, as the brothers are surrounded by hundreds of officers. Later in prison, the Blues Brothers band performs before fellow convicts, singing “Jailhouse Rock.”