Top 5 British Gangsters

These are all just my opinion.

5) Bullet Tooth Tony (Snatch)

Alright, Tony is an extension of the underrated henchmen segment as well but couldn't put him on that list because of how he ends up biting the bullet, pun completely intended. Played to perfection by hard man Vinnie Jones and with an awesome origin story explaining his nickname. He's probably the suavest and most menacing looking I've seen in a British gangster film and efficient. Like Doug the heads girls said, "He'll find you Moses and a burning bush if you pay him to." If I want a total badass to get the job done in London I'd take Bullet tooth Tony any day over Michael Canes Jack Carter.

4) Y.G. (Gangster No.1)

The most psychotic and serial killer like gangster of the list. We never learn the name of this monster played chillingly by Paul Bettany, he's only listed as Young Gangster on IMDB. YG is the most complex character on this list. His story is a bizarre odyssey of love and admiration, to obsession, jealousy, betrayal, and the lust for power. YG is the only Brit gangster I've seen be this dark and crazy in a very realistic way. And if you decide to check out Gangster Number 1, " Keep your f**king knickers on."

3) Harold Shand (Long Good Friday)

Played by the late Bob Hoskins, or as most of you know him, Eddie Valiant (Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Harold Shand is the prototypical London Crime Boss. He's like a mean Bulldog. The character Charlie Jolsen from the PlayStation 2 game The Getaway seems largely inspired by Harold Shand and for those that have watched the HBO show The Wire, Harold and Stringer Bells' stories are very similar a crime boss who thinks he's a legit business man but we all remember what Avon told Stringer, "I look at you and I see a man without a country. Not hard enough for this, and just maybe not smart enough for them out there." But old habits die hard, especially in this movie.

2) Bricktop (Snatch)

Snatch makes its second appearance on this list and at number 2 we have the physical embodiment of the word "nemesis" in Bricktop. It's pretty hard to have a nastier attitude than the previous gangsters listed but Bricktop takes vicious and nasty to a new level. Aside from Hannibal, when have you ever seen someone feed people to pigs for body disposal? Yikes. Like Turkish says, "If you do decide to deal with him, don't be in his debt, cuz then you're in his pocket, and once you're in there you ain't ever coming out." But Bricktop is full of great lines like this too.

• You stop me again whilst I'm walking and I'll cut your f**kin Jacobs off.
• Put a lid on her Turkish before she gets bitten, and you don't wanna get bitten do ya sweetheart.
• (When asked if he wants sugar in his tea) No thank you Turkish... I'm sweet enough.

Interesting fact. Bricktop and hack-you-up-with-a-hatchet Harry from Lock Stock were both henchmen for Harold Shand in The Long Good Friday. I guess that movie was Guy Ritchie's Lucky Star. ;)

1) XXXX (Layer Cake)

My number 1 favorite British gangster is Mr. X from Layer Cake, played by Daniel Craig pre-James Bond. But this character set Craig up to play the 007 role. X, whose name we never learn obviously, is about as slick as 007 for a gangster (oh sorry, a business man) whose commodity is cocaine, but X's story is a fresh take on the one last job concept. The ending is a bit unsatisfying, but if you've been lucky enough to get a hold of the book (hard to find) to read, you know how things turn out. Reading the book definitely made X my favorite along with the fact that he is the smartest and most cunning out of everyone on this list and he's not afraid to be a bit smug about it either. "My name? Well if you knew that you'd be as clever as me."

Those are my top 5 British gangsters. Who would be on your top 5?