The Boston based crime drama "The Departed" has won the Oscar for Best Picture at the 79th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Martin Scorsese was earlier named best director for "The Departed," which he described as the first movie he had ever done with a plot.

The Departed beat off "Babel," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," and "The Queen" for the coveted Best Picture award.

Forest Whitaker won the Oscar for Actor in a Leading Role for his part in the film "The Last King of Scotland.” Whitaker portrayed the dictator Idi Amin in the movie. 

The full list of awards:

• BEST PICTURE 'The Departed,' Graham King, producer
• BEST DIRECTOR Martin Scorsese, 'The Departed'
• BEST ACTOR Forest Whitaker, 'The Last King of Scotland'
• BEST ACTRESS Helen Mirren, 'The Queen'
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Alan Arkin, 'Little Miss Sunshine'
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Jennifer Hudson, 'Dreamgirls'
• ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 'Little Miss Sunshine,' Michael Arndt
• ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 'The Departed,' William Monahan
• DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM 'An Inconvenient Truth,' Davis Guggenheim, director; Laurie David, Lawrence Bender, producers
• FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM 'The Lives of Others,' Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
• ANIMATED FEATURE 'Happy Feet,' George Miller, director
• ORIGINAL SCORE 'Babel,' Gustavo Santaolalla
• ORIGINAL SONG 'I Need to Wake Up,' Melissa Etheridge (from 'An Inconvenient Truth')
• ANIMATED SHORT FILM 'The Danish Poet,' Torill Kove, director
• ART DIRECTION 'Pan's Labyrinth,' Eugenio Caballero, art direction; Pilar Revuelta, set decoration
• CINEMATOGRAPHY 'Pan's Labyrinth,' Guillermo Navarro
• COSTUME DESIGN 'Marie Antoinette,' Milena Canonero
• DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM 'The Blood of Yingzhou District,' Ruby Yang, Thomas Lennon
• FILM EDITING 'The Departed,' Thelma Schoonmaker
• LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM 'West Bank Story,' Ari Sandel, director
• MAKEUP 'Pan's Labyrinth,' David Marti, Montse Ribe
• SOUND EDITING 'Letters From Iwo Jima,' Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman
• SOUND MIXING 'Dreamgirls,' Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, Willie Burton
• VISUAL EFFECTS 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,' John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, Allen Hall