I've always felt that this scene was one of the first times that we see Mike take advantage of his family name and power. He was letting the father know that he was a wanted man by rival mob families, but at the same time he was letting him know that he was also a very powerful man from a very powerful family! Remember at first they spoke to Vitelli about how "hot" this girl was that they saw, not realizing it was her father. That was a huge insult to the father, and at that moment when they realized what they had said, Michael immedeatly knew that their lives were in jeopardy, so at that moment Michael used his talents to calm the father down, threaten him without really threatening him, and getting the father's approval to court his daughter. It is definately one of the first times that we see Michael's ability to handle a situation in the same manner that his father would have. Cool, calm, cunning and threatening!


Don Cardi