No Country For Old Men, the Coen brothers' brutal tale of a man pursued by death and the law across the bleak moonscapes of West Texas, won best picture at the 80th Academy Awards. The four acting awards, meanwhile, went to Europeans: Marion Cotillard, Daniel Day-Lewis, Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton.

The Coens also won best director and best adapted screenplay, and Bardem, who played cattle-gun-armed killer Anton Chigurh, won best supporting actor. The Coens have been known for their oddball humor in films such as Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou and The Big Lebowski.

The Academy Awards opened with host Jon Stewart joking about the recently ended writers strike -- which forced a cutback in the Golden Globes and threatened the Oscars as well -- and commenting on the bleakness of the best picture nominees.

"Tonight we look beyond the dark days to focus on happier fare: This year's slate of Oscar-nominated psychopathic killer movies," Stewart joked. "Does this town need a hug? What happened? No Country For Old Men, Sweeney Todd, There Will Be Blood? All I can say is, thank God for [the comedy Juno's] teen pregnancy. I think the country agrees."

Source: CNN