If Vito's life were a rap sheet, we'd see a gangster who used violence--including murder--to acheive his criminal goals. He corrupted police, politicians and judges, subverting justice and the rule of law. Yes, he eschewed drugs for "harmless" criminal businesses. But, the big money in gambling comes not the odds favoring the house, but from loan sharking--a business of broken kneecaps or worse. And, every dollar he squeezed out of labor unions was a dollar stolen from a working person and used for subveerting the rights and benefits unions are supposed to provide their members, And, no, a "good father" doesn't bring his sons into his criminal enterprise, no matter how much he "never wanted this for you."

But, Vito's life as portrayed by Puzo and FFC isn't a rap sheet, and GF isn't a gangster movie per se--it's a movie about a family with the Mafia as the defining milieu. Vito's life is presented with nuances and emotions that don't redeem his criminal career, but do show him as a human being with feelings ad motivations we can relate to, even if we don't approve of all of them, He has limits, and sometimes a sense of balance and fairness. By contrast: Michael's life as portrayed shows us few of those "redeeming features." .