I have to agree with Robert Towne when he said this film is one of the greatest achievements in the history of screenwriting. When the camera follows DeNiro as he moves from rooftop to rooftop, falling into the abyss filled with crime and corrpution, it will affect him and his family forever. DeNiro is slick and smooth as the young Vito Corleone. The rise of Michael Corleone's power is superbly captured by Coppola and delivered with cold hearted villainy by Al Pacino, in his finest performance. Strasberg is also solid in his performance of Hyman Roth. It's nice to see him put that "method" to work. The only one who feels out of it here is Duvall who seems to be simply going through motions. It may have been that Tom's character is also given limited depth within the script. It is a superb sequel, argued by many to be superior to the original.