At the start of the movie, Michael is not involved in the family business. The movie shows how and why Michael gets dragged into the family business, and it's

At the start of the movie, Michael is not involved in the family business. The movie shows how and why Michael gets dragged into the family business, and it's not "American society is so prejudiced against Italians" American society considered Michael a war hero at the start of the movie. Michael is not shown to be the victim of a society prejudiced against his ethnicity. Michael is dragged into the family business when a corrupt Irish-American police captain, paid off by a rival Italian-American mob, try to assassinate Michael's father. Corrupt police and Michael's loyalty to his family interact in a manner that drags Michael into a life of crime.