Often when you think of the second parts you say that these are never good, but it was only to be expected that 'The Godfather Part II' was the exception. How could you beat 'The Godfather', a practically perfect movie? It certainly wasn't an easy task, but Coppola knew how to do it.. Repeat the formula, but do it doubly better. In this second film we see how Michael takes care of the family's criminal business as well as seeing the beginnings and youth of Vito Corleone. It is quite interesting how these two narratives contrast, both very intuitive, in the first one seeing how Michael destroys his family in his search for power, while Vito builds it. In this way Coppola makes the two apparently separate stories interconnected in a way that is both subtle and masterful. But the real achievement of this second part may be as a slingshot in Michael and his criminal business, which in turn makes his humanity and family relationships compromised, giving the film a non-existent drama in the first part. Finally the conclusion I draw from this film is that Francis Ford Coppola has achieved higher status as an artist by being able to not only match his first masterpiece, but to make it even better.