The drama of the scene, in which Tessio asks Tom if he could get him off the hook and tom turning him down is poignant. Tessio being escorted away also has a dramatic wallop that hits harder than any explicit scene of his death could.
Exactly. His being led away to his death was most poignant. But perhaps even more poignant was the follow up scene of Tom looking out the window as Tessio is led away. Both scenes evoke a measure of sadness in the viewer as they witness the passing of Vito's Roman Empire to the expediency of Michael's corporate organization.
