a Stranger (1985), Mona Lisa (1986), The Krays (1990), Gangster No.1 (2000), Sexy Beast (2001), the raucous Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000), and most recently, Mathew Vaughn’s nasty little confection ‘ Layer Cake ’ (2005) have become a staple of British cinema. While almost any audience