Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Barzini, Tattaglia, and Assorted Traitors

The antagonists are a wide assortment of gangsters—mainly the Tattaglia and Barzini families and their associates (like Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey), but also traitors from within the Corleone family's ranks (Tessio, Paulie, and Carlo, mainly).

They represent the new, pro-drug-dealing faction of the Mafia, and they're trying to push the more conservative Corleones out of the picture. In order to defeat them, Michael actually has to become more like them—he has to shed some of his father's principles and commit himself to being totally ruthless, willing to kill even when it's blatantly unjust.