The Coen Brothers' No Country For Old Men came out on top of one of the most hotly contested Oscar fights for years.
The downbeat drama based on Cormac McCarthy's novel, won the awards for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem - who some might suggest deserved the award for his haircut alone.
Another big winner was The Bourne Ultimatum, which cleaned up in the technical categories, winning awards for Editing, Sound and Sound Editing.
It was also a good night for Britain, with bookies' favourite Daniel Day-Lewis - who has joint British- Irish citizenship - beating off competition from George Clooney (Michael Clayton) and Tommy Lee Jones (In The Valley Of Elah) to take home the Best Actor statuette.
It is the second time that Day-Lewis has been given the accolade by the Academy, having won the award back in 1990 for his role as Christy Brown in My Left Foot.
Accepting the award from The Queen actress Helen Mirren, he joked: "This is the closest I'll ever come to getting a Knighthood."
Although veteran British actress Julie Christie again lost out in the Best Actress battle to Marion Cotillard - for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose - there was success for fellow Brit Tilda Swinton, who took the Supporting Actress gong for Michael Clayton.
Winner of Foreign language Oscar - much criticised for overlooking films such as 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days - went to The Counterfeiters. Meanwhile Taxi To The Dark Side, examining the US's torture tactics in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo, managed to beat off stiff competition from Michael Moore's Sicko and Iraq war doc No End In Sight.
There was further success for this side of the Pond as Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová took home the Best Original song statuette for Falling Slowly from Once.
Hansard took the award saying: "This is amazing. Make art. Make art."
However, the band struck up before Irglová had barely opened her mouth. Returning to the stage after an advert break, however, host Jon Stewart brought the 19-year-old Czech star back to the stage where she took full advantage.
She said: "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."
UK/Poland co-production Peter & The Wolf, meanwhile, loped off with the short animation award.A full list of winners are below:
Best picture: No Country For Old Men
Best director: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men
Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Best actress: Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose
Best supporting actress: Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton
Best supporting actor: Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men
Best foreign language film: The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Best animated feature film: Ratatouille
Best adapted screenplay: No Country For Old Men
Best original screenplay: Juno
Best music (score): Atonement
Best music (song): Falling Slowly, Once
Best documentary feature: Taxi To The Dark Side
Best documentary short subject: Freeheld
Best visual effects: The Golden Compass
Best cinematography: There Will Be Blood
Best art direction: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Best animated short film: Peter And The Wolf
Best short film: Le Mozart Des Pickpockets
Best costume design: Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Best make-up: La Vie En Rose
Best sound mixing: The Bourne Ultimatum
Best sound editing: The Bourne Ultimatum
Best film editing: The Bourne Ultimatum
