ted in the Marines, and brings with him his fiancee, Kay (Diane Keaton), a WASPish beauty from outside his family's world, who only gradually begins to understand the true nature of the family business.
By the time Michael has accepted the inevitable necessity of his fate, his oldest brother is dead, the crime has been avenged, and the Corleones have solidified their place as one of the most powerful crime organizations in America. Michael does not share his father's confidence in his right to such power and importance, but he has resigned himself to doing what is necessary as a Corleone. Kay, who has become his wife, is even less sure of her place in this quietly menacing organization, but she has also found ways to accept her fate.
The Godfather, Part II picks up at this point, but it tells a much more complicated story. Jumping back and forth in time, it contrasts the tale of Michael's growing confidence in his new position and the evolution of his own distinctive style of leadership with the story of how the young Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) came to begin his career.
The two films are structurally similar. Both begin with an elaborate family gathering to celebrate important events in the family's life (Connie Corleone's wedding in the first, Anthony Corleone's first communion in the second), which are intercut with scenes of the father of the guest of honor (the current don of the family) conducting important business in the main house, behind the scenes of the party. Both culminate in elaborate blood baths, as carefully planned murders are carried out in different locations, all at the same moment.
Yet the two are actually concerned with different matters. The Godfather's main theme is the importance of honor. Although Don Corleone trafficks in murder, extortion, and thievery, he is a man to whom honor is everything. He has his own sense of justice, and he tries to remain true t
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