Decades since i've seen it; watched it again. Still holds up. It shows you how a patriotic, peace loving Michael Corleone became a mafia boss. , one thing you should understand is that stories are meant to emulate life. Not all of them do, but the good ones surely try and achieve that. So, when you say nothing meaningful happened in 'The Godfather', it doesn't mean it's a bad story. It's basically emulating lives of people who, in your words, didn't live a very meaningful life. 'The Godfather' shows you that. It also shows you the transition of mafia from a relatively peaceful times to the vibrant seduction of drugs.