8 Oscar-Winning Movies of the 21st Century That Critics Can't Stop Praising, Ranked by RT

On March 15 the world will learn the names of the latest Oscar winners. In anticipation of the 98th ceremony, we decided to highlight eight 21st-century movies that received both the golden statuette and the highest praise from critics and viewers.

8. 'Gladiator', 2000

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

General Maximus is a great commander and a favorite of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. When Commodus, the heir to the Roman Empire, learns of his father's plans to give power to Maximus, he has Aurelius assassinated and orders Maximus' assassination.

Maximus miraculously survives and is enslaved, becoming a common gladiator. Avenging his wife's death becomes his life's work.

Ridley Scott's Gladiator is arguably the last truly great Hollywood peplum. With bloody battles in the Colosseum arena and a simple yet well-crafted plot of brutal revenge, it's no wonder the movie remains a cult classic, even 26 years after its premiere.

7. 'Million Dollar Baby', 2004

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

Frankie, a boxing trainer, dreams of producing a champion, but his gym regulars aren't exactly stellar. His long-awaited chance at success comes when Maggie, a 31-year-old waitress dreaming of a career in big-time boxing, drops by his gym.

Frankie initially refuses to train Maggie, but she earns his favor through hard work. A title fight and the potential fulfillment of her dream await her.

Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby is a benchmark sports drama. Despite strong competition from Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, this inspiring boxing story won four Oscars.

6. 'The Departed', 2006

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

Billy and Colin are the top graduates of the Boston Police Academy. However, they find themselves on opposite sides of the fence. Billy infiltrates gangster Frank Costello's criminal organization, and Colin leaks classified information from the Organized Crime Squad headquarters to the gang.

The Departed was one of the most successful films of Scorsese's long career – it grossed nearly $300 million at the box office and won four Academy Awards.

The crime drama earned the veteran director his first and, to date, only Oscar for Best Director.

5. 'Everything Everywhere All at Once', 2022

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Laundromat owner Evelyn's mental health is on the line – she can't file her taxes, and her daughter, elderly father, and husband are only making matters worse.

A routine visit to the tax office knocks Evelyn off her feet when she discovers that she can travel to parallel universes and access the skills and knowledge of her various doppelgängers.

Starring the legendary Michelle Yeoh, the film won seven Oscars, finally convincing audiences that the Academy values not only sentimental dramas, but also original genre films.

4. 'No Country for Old Men', 2007

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Llewelyn Moss finds a pile of corpses, a truck full of drugs, and two million dollars in cash in the desert. Without hesitation, he takes the money and goes on the run.

However, his chance at a new life turns into a ticket to hell when the heartless hitman Anton Chigurh sets his sights on him.

If the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel is not the best film in the Coen brothers' careers, then certainly the most important. In No Country for Old Men, the directors reinvent the crime genre formula – even the main characters have no hope for a happy ending amid a series of endless murders.

3. 'The Artist', 2011

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

Hollywood, 1927. Silent film star George doesn't believe in the success of sound cinema and refuses to use the new microphones on his set.

While George's career gradually fades, extra Peppy's star rises by leaps and bounds. The invention of sound will forever change the lives of the two Hollywood Hills residents.

The black-and-white The Artist is the first silent film to win an Oscar since 1929. Director Michel Hazanavicius captured the magic of early cinema so well that he won five Oscars.

2. 'The Hurt Locker', 2008

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

2004, Staff Sergeant William James begins a combat mission to clear the ruins of Baghdad so that American troops can pass through.

A seasoned sapper with a complex personality, James spares neither himself nor his subordinates. He is a daredevil who approaches dangerous work like a puzzle and constantly antagonizes high-ranking military officers.

Jeremy Renner delivered the best performance of his career in Kathryn Bigelow's war thriller, and Bigelow's grounded realism influenced the methods of many Hollywood filmmakers. However, the movie was never a box-office hit – the war drama, which won six Oscars, grossed less than $50 million.

1. 'Parasite', 2019

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 99%

The impoverished Kim family lives in a basement apartment on the outskirts of Seoul. When one of them gets a part-time job at the home of the wealthy Park family, they decide to pull off a scam, seizing the luxurious villa right under the Park family's nose.

Gradually, all of the Kim family members find work for the wealthy Park family. However, their perfect plan quickly falls apart.

In 2020, the Oscars changed forever when a non-English-language movie won Best Picture for the first time in history.