If you want to see the quintessential american crime film? Goodfellas. The Godfather is romanticized garbage in comparison. Take a look at Coppolas' interviews about the godfather. It is not a film he was passionate about doing, nor is he proud of the mafia legacy and he was a little bit insulted the studio thought he would do a good job just because he was Italian. Coppola purposely turned the story into a universal tale of a king and his family to avoid the broken, bloody and undressed view of the "earners" on the street. He didnt want to focus on this, because of his aforementioned lack of pride. He turned the mafia into a fairy-tale.

Scorcese created goodfellas with passion and respect. The line between good and evil was blurred, as it is in real life. The good stories of the mafia dont come from the "Don". They come from the "earners". The guys in the trenches. They are what keeps the wheel turning.