Going back to Turnbull's old mantra, the underlying message of the GF Trilogy is "crime doesn't pay." It didn't pay for Vito who lost a son, and saw his empire collapse, an it didn't pay for Michael, who despite his riches, watched his beloved daughter be murdered, and lost the amily he said he was trying to save.
A lot of the rest is atmospherics. Most significantly is the difference between Vito and Michael. A lot of this is generational, and also a result of the very different backgrounds they had. Vito was born in rural Sicily and had to be spirited out of the country to avoid being killed. When he arrives in New York, after spending months on Ellis Island in isolation he was taken in by the Abbanbando family and raised "like a son" .... something he would do for Tom Hagen later in life. He came up as an immigrant/street person and began his career by doing favors for people in exchange for bigger favors and profits. Yes, he murdered Fannuccio as a "favor" to Tessio and Clemenza, but in exchange he gained their loyalty and began what became the successful "Olive Oil Business." But he had a kinder touch as well...indicative are the scenes with people like the fruit vendor who would not let him pay for a piece of fruit, after which VIto told him "if there is anything I can do for you come to me," as well as the whole favor he did for his wife when he got the landlord to allow her friend and her pet to stay in their apartment for reduced rent. For that second favor he never even asked for anything in return.
Micheal on the other hand was born of privilege. He never wanted for anything. Went to the best schools, including an Ivy League college, and was a typical post war corporate director, and thats how he ran the family. Along the way he lost his "common touch" (I doubt he would care about some widow being evicted from an apartment) . So in many ways, his ruthlessness was no greater than Vito's, instead it was just mor out there for everyone to see because he lacked sympathy for others. He was a manipulator who believed the end always justified the means, and was a narcissist who could not see his own shortcomings until it was too late. The tragedy ofMichael was in III when he realized that he was his own undoing.
