No Country makes clean getaway on Oscar night

The Coen brothers' violent neo-western No Country For Old Men was top of the pile on Tinseltown's biggest night, scooping four Oscars including Best Picture at yesterday's star-studded awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Joel and Ethan Coen, whose other hits include The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?? and Barton Fink, collected a hat-trick of awards overall, adding Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars to the Best Picture statuette.

Spanish actor Javier Bardem, who plays sociopathic hitman Anton Chigurh, took Best Supporting Actor to make it a triumphant night for the film, which also features Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Trainspotting star Kelly MacDonald.

Elsewhere, in an internationally-flavoured evening, Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis surprised no-one by scooping the Best Actor Oscar for There Will Be Blood, while French starlet Marion Cotillard won Best Actress for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose.

British actress Tilda Swinton also won big, walking away with the Best Supporting Actress statuette for her performance as ruthless corporate lawyer Karen Crowder in Michael Clayton.

First-time writer Diablo Cody also continued her meteoric rise by taking home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for her teen pregnancy comedy-drama Juno.

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