The themes of criminality and family are well represented in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather”. Don Corleone is not like the other bosses in the surrounding families. He runs his business with certain practices or morals that are not accustom to people in his line of criminal work.
While the Corleone’s run an illegal business, with operations such as gambling or extorting businesses with there protection, Don Corleone tries to separate himself and the family from risky propositions as they come up. The Don has strong political power from the relationships’ he’s made over the years and does not feel it’s appropriate for the family to get involved in certain illegal businesses such as selling narcotics. When Virgil Sollozzo presented an offer to the Godfather for that same business, he turned it down because it does not fit in the Corleone’s business model.
The theme of family in this film is twofold, one being that the Corleone’s are a family and second the Corleone’s are one of the five mafia families in New York. It can sometimes be tricky when a family is also running a business because to be a successful business, feelings cannot get in the way of decisions that have to be made, especially in the cut throat business the Corleone’s are in. Although Don Corleone wouldn’t want it any other way because it was his family, he was running the business with, he could trust them with any and all information and that is hard to come by. Loyalty to the family is above all else in the Godfather, not discussing any problems or even what you’re thinking outside the family is crucial. When Sonny chimed in seeming not a big deal during a business meeting, as soon as it was over, The Godfather made his son know that it’s not acceptable for him to let others know outside the family what they were truly thinking, and in this case it was how they wanted to run their business.
Stefano Allegras blog 