The bell has rung and it's last orders for Bermondsey butcher Jack Dodds (Michael Caine) in this film version of British novelist Graham Swift's Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. Exploring friendship, loyalty and family, "Last Orders" -- written and directed by Fred Schepisi ("Six Degrees of Separation") -- is an emotionally-charged film that seems sure to be among the year's best.

A few days after his death, Jack's mates meet in their life-long local pub, The Coach and Horses, in Bermondsey, a neighborhood in London's working class East End. Dodds is a strong-willed, magnetic man, and his friends' lives all seem to orbit his.

There's Vic, the undertaker, played by Tom Courteney, the irascible ex-boxer Lenny, played by David Hemmings and devoted Ray, played by Bob Hoskins.

These friends are charged with fulfilling Jack's last wish: to have his ashes scattered from the pier at Margate on England's southern coast. Joining them is Jack's adopted son Vince, played by Ray Winstone. Vince, a car dealer, drives the lot of them in his swank Mercedes, which he's borrowed from the garage for the occasion.

This somber journey turns into something of a grand day out as the four men make some stops along the way: at the war memorial -- which holds special significance for Jack's friends, who all fought in the war -- and at Rochester, where they take Jack (well, his ashes) to the pub. They stop at Canterbury, where they all visit the cathedral, and detour to the farm where Jack met his wife, Amy (Helen Mirren).

Underlying it all are the individual relationships, illuminated in flashbacks: Jack and Amy's difficulties stemming from their different reactions to the birth of their mentally retarded daughter June (Laura Morelli); Ray and Jack's meeting in Egypt during the war; Amy and Ray's friendship; Vince's discovery that he was adopted and his struggle with Jack over whether or not he would take over the family business; Lenny's memories of inadequacy as his daughter joins Jack's family on weekly beach trips he was unable to provide.

Mirren is brilliant as the conflicted Amy, and Caine is as good as you've come to expect. Winstone, who shined in "Sexy Beast," has no trouble keeping with the veterans. Hoskins is perfect.

A great ensemble film, "Last Orders" is distinguished for its story of friendship, with all its highs and lows, certainly, but it is the top-notch cast that makes it really special.

"Last Orders" opens Fri., March 15 at Landmark's Downer Theatre. Click here for showtimes.