The dark crime thriller "No Country For Old Men" topped the 80th annual Academy Awards Sunday night in Los Angeles with four Oscars, including Best Picture, and Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay wins for filmmaking brothers Joel and Ethan Coen.

The top acting honors were taken by four European actors: British actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Tilda Swinton, Spanish actor Javier Bardem and French actress Marion Cotillard.

When accepting the Oscar for Best Director, Joel Coen told a story of how he and his brother started making movies -- their first as youths at the airport in their hometown of Minneapolis called "Henry Kissinger: Man on the Go."

"What we do now doesn't feel that much different from what we were doing then," a soft-spoken Joel Coen said.

Bardem also won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "No Country," for playing a cold-blooded killer with an distinct Prince Valiant-like hairdo.

"Thank to the Coens for being crazy enough to think I could do that (role) and putting one of the most horrible haircuts in history over my head," Bardem joked.

Day-Lewis also struck Oscar gold, winning Best Actor for his role as a ruthless oil baron in the period drama "There Will Be Blood."

"That's the closest I'll ever come to getting a knighthood," Day-Lewis said, accepting his award from Helen Mirren, last year's Oscar winner for "The Queen."

He also thanked the Academy for whacking him "with the handsomest bludgeon in town."

The Best Actor trophy is Day-Lewis' second. He previously won for "My Left Foot."

Cotillard pulled a stunning upset with a Best Actress Oscar win for "La Vie En Rose." Legendary performer Julie Christie was considered by many to be a shoo-in for the Oscar for playing an Alzheimer's patient in "Away From Her."

"It is true, there (are) some angels in this city," French actress Cotillard said, nearly in tears.

Cotillard's win was the second upset of the night. A shocked Swinton took the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for "Michael Clayton."

"I have an American agent who is a spitting image of this," Swinton quipped. "Really, truly, the same shaped head and, it has to be said, the buttocks. And I'm giving this to him, because there's no way I would be in America at all, ever on a plane, if it wasn't for him."

In his opening monologue, Oscar host Jon Stewart wasted no time making jokes about the recently resolved Hollywood writers' strike.

"These past 3 1/2 months were very tough," Stewart said. "The town was torn apart by a bitter writers strike, but I'm happy to say that the fight is over, so tonight, welcome to the makeup sex."

Stewart also pointed out the Oscar-nominated screenwriter from "Juno" to make a point about the writers.

"Diablo Cody used to be an exotic dancer and now she's Oscar nominated screenwriter -- I hope you're enjoying the paycut," Stewart quipped.

Cody went on to win the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for "Juno."

Director Brad Bird lost out in the original screenplay race, but made up for it with a Best Animated Feature win for "Ratatouille" -- his second Oscar behind "The Incredibles."

An honorary Oscar was handed out to famed production designer Robert Boyle, whose work includes such films as "North by Northwest," "The Birds," "In Cold Blood" and "Fiddler on the Roof."

Nicole Kidman introduced Boyle, who received a standing ovation from the crowd at the Kodak Theatre.

"That's the good part of getting old," the 98-year-old Boyle cracked in response. "I don't recommend the other."

As Academy officials promised, the show came in under 3 1/2 hours. The show was running so tight, in fact, that Marketa Irglova, who co-wrote the Best Original Song "Falling Slowly" for the film, "Once," was invited back on stage after a commercial break by Stewart to get her chance to shine.

"The fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just proof that no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible," Irglova said upon her return to the stage. "And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream, and don't give up. This song was written from the perspective of hope, and hope, at the end of the day, connects us all, no matter how different we are."