Mystic River stars Sean Penn (left) and Kevin Bacon

The film topped the US National Board of Review's (NBR) list of the best 10 films of 2003, and its star Sean Penn was named best actor.

NBR voters include film professionals, teachers and historians, who pick the first winners of the season that culminates with the Oscars in February.

Diane Keaton won best actress and Alec Baldwin won the supporting actor prize.

NBR president Annie Schulhof said it had been "a strong year for the studios".

NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW TOP FIVE 1. Mystic River 2. The Last Samurai (above) 3. The Station Agent 4. 21 Grams 5. House of Sand and Fog Review: Mystic River

"They produced films with powerful storylines and characters with their own moral codes," she said.

Penn, who plays a man whose life is ripped apart when his daughter is killed in Mystic River, was given the best actor prize jointly for that film and another drama, 21 Grams.

Keaton's award was for her role as a divorced playwright opposite Jack Nicholson in Something's Gotta Give.

And Baldwin was honoured for his acclaimed performance as a sleazy casino owner in The Cooler.

The prize for best supporting actress went to Patricia Clarkson for two roles - in Pieces of April and The Station Agent.

On the list of the top 10 films, Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai came second and its director, Edward Zwick, was named best director.

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The Station Agent, the charming story of a loner in rural America, was third, while 21 Grams - in which Penn plays a terminally ill maths professor - was fourth.

Hours successor

House of Sand and Fog, starring Jennifer Connelly, Bill Murray's Lost in Translation and Cold Mountain, which stars Nicole Kidman and Jude Law, were next in the list.

In America, with Samantha Morton, horseracing story Seabiscuit and Russell Crowe's Master and Commander rounded off the top 10.

Last year, The Hours came top of the list.