Absolutely. It’s a brutal scene but I think the purpose is to show how ruthless the mafia really is. As great as the first Godfather film was it certainly romanticized it to the point that fans were cheering for the Corleones since we follow their story. But Part 2 was certainly darker and showed the true ugliness of that life.
I hor have a little different take on the scene. Senator Geary while not being, as far as we know, a murderer. But in his own way was just as slimy and despicable as the Corleones. The difference was their different demeanors. It was very apparent at his meeting with Mike in Mikes's study. He personified the definition of a slimeball, while Mike remained calm, cool, and collective. In the old days of movie watching the audience would have booed and hissed whenever Geary was on screen. I think we the audience were glad to see how defenseless and scared Geary was in the brothel. And putting aside the circumstances. It basically was the same with all the Corleones hits. Same with the hit on McClusky. The hits were mainly on individuals of low moral standing.
