While The cast of the Godfather trilogy features veteran actors like Marlon Brando and rising actors who would later become major stars, like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

The main themes running through the Godfather trilogy are trust and the way that alliances can make or break the movie's crime families. The Godfather begins with the Corleone family seemingly in power, but that status starts to crumble as Don Vito Corleone discovers that he has trusted the wrong people. The Corleone family's biggest mistakes and attempts to hold onto their power are the basis of The Godfather's story. Of all the five crime families of New York, some are more trustworthy than others, and the Godfather trilogy shows that the balance between them is delicate.

The Corleone Family

The Godfather Trilogy Is About The Corleone Family's Rise To Power

There are six Corleone family Dons in the Godfather trilogy, and the movies begin with Vito Corleone in power but planning to step back, so one of his sons can take over. The Corleone family is one of the richest and most powerful families in the film. Vito Corleone runs the legal Genco Pura Olive Oil Company as a front to cover the family's illegal businesses, which include running gambling rings and offering protection to influential figures in exchange for money. Vito allows his eldest son, Sonny Corleone, to take over the business, which proves to be a mistake.

Vito could be brutal, but he also has self-control, and his actions are outrageous but effective. This includes punishing a man by putting his horse's severed head in his bed. In contrast, Sonny is impulsive, which makes him easy to manipulate. Sonny does not last long, being lured out of the house and assassinated, with Michael taking over. Michael becomes the most formidable Corleone Don, while still taking advice from his sister Connie, and Vito's adopted son and consigliere, Tom Hagen. Michael's revenge at the end of The Godfather is one of the best in cinema history.

The Corleone family is betrayed by the Barzini and Tattaglia families, who have the of the Stracci and Cuneo families. At the end of The Godfather, Michael Corleone assassinates all the Corleone family enemies at once. This includes the heads of the other four families and traitors who contributed to the attempt on Vito's life. This was a shocking but smart move for Michael Corleone because killing his immediate opposition gave him time to take over while the other horrified families tried to pick up the pieces and mourn their dead .

The Barzini Family

Emilio Barzini Was The Main Antagonist Of The Godfather

Headed by Don Emilio "The Wolf" Barzini, the Barzini family was the most powerful in New York before Vito Corleone took over. They resented Vito Corleone winning the "Olive Oil War" and while they controlled the drugs trade in New York, they had been planning retaliation before the events of The Godfather. The Barzinis, with Virgil "The Turk" Solozzo, were responsible for the assassination attempt on Vito, before conspiring with the Tattaglia, Stracci, and Cuneo families to wage war on the Corleones. Emilio Barzini and his men were responsible for Sonny's assassination at the toll booth, which Vito realizes later.

Vito's years of wisdom helped Michael as the Corleone's acting Don, warning Michael that Emilio Barzini would betray him. This proves to be true, and Barzini also persuades the trusted Sal Tessio to change sides. The Corleone family had apparently forgiven the Barzini family for Sonny's death, but Michael planned revenge. Michael employs the Corleone family's secret weapon, their enforcer, Al Neri. Neri and his men gun Barzini down in the street at the end of The Godfather, and he was succeeded by Paul Fortunato, who expanded the drug business and eventually became a er of Michael Corleone.

The Tattaglia Family

This Family Was Blamed For The Attempted Hit On Vito Corleone

The Tattaglia family, headed by Don Philip Tattaglia, controlled escorting services and nightclubs in New York. While the family was relatively successful, they did not command the same respect as the Corleone and Barzini families did. Philip Tattaglia was more interested in women than business, and while he might not have been an intelligent strategist, his sons Bruno and John were, which helped the Tattaglia family to succeed. As the family moved into the drug trade, their alliance with Solozzo helped them to reach a new level of power, and they ed the plot to assassinate Vito Corleone.

In The Godfather, Tattaglia's lack of interest in business is shown when he pays more attention to his hair than the meeting of the five families, missing key points.

Philip Tattaglia and his family were seen as the weakest of the five families in The Godfather, though the Tattaglias were originally suspected of being behind Vito and Sonny's shootings, especially after Bruno's assassination. Still, while it became clear that Philip could not have organized the attack alone and Barzini was the true mastermind, Michael put a hit on him for his role in the war, and Philip was killed at his hotel. The family nearly went bankrupt before being ed to former consigliere and Corleone ally, Altobello, who was poisoned by the often overlooked Connie Corleone for betraying Michael.

The Stracci Family

The Least Powerful But Seemingly Most Well-Connected Family

The Godfather's Stracci family is less prominent than the Corleones, Barzinis, and Tattaglias, but the have a very different approach to their business. Due to their political influence and fleet of freight trucks, the Stracci family has the potential to be more dangerous than many other families due to a combination of seemingly legitimate businesses and bribery of politicians. While the Stracci family is loyal to the Corleones in The Godfather novel, Don Victor Stracci ed Emilio Barzini in his attempt to force the Corleone family into the narcotics trade in the movie.

Although the Stracci family does not play a main role in The Godfather, the mobsters had a hand in betraying Michael Corleone, who needed to take down all the leaders of the other families for his takeover to work. Victor Stracci was the first to die in the "baptism of blood" ending of The Godfather when Michael took control of New York for the Corleones. He was killed by Peter Clemenza, who shot him as he was leaving an elevator. He was succeeded by his brother, Mario Stracci, and the Stracci family does not feature greatly in the Godfather sequels.

The Cuneo Family

The Cuneo Family Appear To Have Escaped The Notice Of The Police

Don Carmine Cuneo's criminal business appears to have been ignored or hidden from the police, with the family originally having a fleet of milk trucks as a front for their illegal work. While the Cuneo family appears to have a hand in everything from gambling to smuggling, they do not play a large role in The Godfather other than to the Tattaglia family in allying with the Barzini family against the Corleones. That said, Carmine Cuneo was shown to be good-natured and friendly to most people and believed himself to be an honorable man.

Like the other leaders of the families that plotted against the Corleones, Carmine Cuneo was killed by Michael Corleone's men at the end of The Godfather. The Corleone family soldier, Willie Cicci, trapped Carmine in the revolving door of a hotel before shooting him through the glass four times as he cursed the family. He was succeeded by Leo Cuneo before most of the family was wiped out by Joey Zasa. While the ending of The Godfather is fast-paced, with many deaths taking place in a short amount of time, Carmine Cuneo's death is one of the more memorable.