Originally posted by FrankieFiveAngels:
Tom Hagen saying 'this is almost 1946,' doesn't seem reasonable in any context. The only purpose I see is to tell the audience that World War II has just ended.
The context of this statement is indeed that WWII is over, because Tom is talking about the prospects for a possible war among the families over the drug business Sollozzo is planning. What Tom is saying is that things have changed since the pre WWII days, and that the nation as a whole is war weary, and that this would not be a good time for a mob war to break out.
