That was a powerful passage, indeed. But you mentioned the novel, so I'm going to hijack the thread a bit.

We've discussed this often, but my favorite part of the novel was Neri's backstory, and how surprised and moved he was when he thought Michael was finished with him, then Michael insisted that he have lunch with he and Vito. Definitely one of Michael's most sincere moves. I don't think it was tactical, I think it was genuine and human of him. Of course, this was before Michael turned into a coldblooded monster.

Neri's backstory should have been in the movie. Period.