My take, for what it is worth!
All that money couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again!
If we measure Vito and Michael on their 'profession' my view, pretty even, give or take....both got shot at
However on a personal level “Vito died while playing with his grandson. Michael died, alone and embittered, in Sicily, with only a little dog to attend him” Vito died 'happy' as could be under the circumstances [both lost a child] thanks to his wife, Carmela
Vito also didn't have to contend with his -
1. insolent sister
2. brother's betrayal
3. wife's abortion
"Both Vito and Michael were big time criminals. Vito accepted what he was" but deluded himself that Michael can be someone other than a “common Mafia hood" become "legitimate" thus [Ref: Evita] burdening Michael with the impossible, unrealistic
Vito's obsession with legitimizing
Vito's decades old criminal activities
As Barzini said at the Commission meeting even in
their time -
Times have changed It's not like the Old Days -- when we can do anything we want
Vito “bought, and earned, loyalty and favors from [corrupt] cops, judges and politicians” the very people who were entrusted with and should have been upholding the American law
“He dispensed [
his] “justice” to fellow Sicilians who shared his values and offered friendship, loyalty and respect in return” always with a caveat
Vito: It's true, I have a lot of friends in politics but they wouldn't be friendly very long if they knew my business was drugs instead of gambling, which they rule that as a -- harmless vice But drugs is a dirty business
Vito's friends would have gone along, wouldn't Vito have been greedy for the millions even if drugs was a dirty business?
Money can be a weapon even more so in their business where every Don is always greedy for money, more money indeed – apart from the money itself, the richer Dons would wield more clout....power, security and able to buy more cops, judges and politician friends
“He [Vito] was secure in his place and in his self esteem” until complacency and slippin' brought him undone and messed up Michael's life
“It led him [Michael] into a life of internal turmoil and frustration” Thanks! Pop
Sure thing “Vito had a degree of personal modesty and warmth;” and always the nice guy even when detrimental to Michael
Whilst Vito's Senators didn't attend his daughter's wedding, Michael's Senator attended Michael's son's first communion at
his home
Senator Pat GearyThe movie points up Geary's arrogance and hubris: A US Senator and "family man" patronizing a brothel and thinking nothing of it. We saw an even more egregious example earlier when Geary demands a huge bribe from Michael and justifies it because "I don't like your kind of people...you come out to this clean country with your oily hair...dressed up in silk suits...try to pass yourselves off as decent Americans." This was typical behavior of some Nevadans in power who could trace their ancestry in the state back two or three generations ("pioneers") and thought they owned the state, make their own rules, and apply other rules to "outsiders." Another example was in "Casino," when County Commissioner Pat Webb, after demanding that Ace Rothstein reinstate his useless brother in law in a "juiced-in" job: "You people will never understand that you're here as our guests, and I'm gonna send you back where you came from..." Oli once pointed out that some Texas pezzanovantes think and behave the same way.
ie: Vito would have “got nothing but contempt from Sen. Geary:” too
Vito also “couldn’t even count on the loyalty of” his men - Paulie set Vito up for the hit, Tessio's betrayal
