Critical sections in a programming code may be ordered based at least in part on code motions. A flow graph of the code including the critical section may be generated. Two initiative motions may be performed based on the flow graph to identify possible positions of critical codes in the flow graph. Dependence relationship of critical sections may be determined based on the positions of critical sections. Using the dependence relationship information, the order of critical sections may be determined. The determined order of critical sections may be further used by a compiler to perform optimizations for the code.