Don Vito - How did he know it was Barzini all along?

In The Godfather, we are introduced to the behind the scenes of the Corleone crime family, run by the notorious Don Vito Corleone. We all watched the intriguing series of events unfold, and the story was brilliantly made by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola. But there is something that until today has us wondering, a question that wasn't clearly answered and still captivates many debates, is how did Don Vito, instinctively know that the individual behind all these treacherous events wasn't the obvious Philip D'Italia, rather the more cunning, Don Emilio Barzini. In the film, after Sonny was taken out, we see Don Vito needing to step in, while he still had not fully recovered, in order to prevent his empire from collapsing. He calls a meeting with the heads of the five families, who rule over New York. At this meeting Vito goes in to make peace with the other families in order to safely bring back his son Michael, from his exile in Sicily. But Vito's goal and intentions behind the meeting were not limited to the reasons he gave the other Dons. Vito needed to verify who was behind these lethal attacks on his family. And somehow, after the meeting he realizes that it actually was Don Barzini who was behind all these attacks, not just Philip D'Italia, as it had seemed at first. And so the question that to this day has not been answered, is how exactly did Vito manage to come to the realization that it was Barzini all along, how could he have exposed the true culprit from that one meeting, and discerned that it wasn't just D'Italia responsible for all these events. That's exactly what we will uncover in this video. So after watching this video you will know how and why, Don Vito was able to uncover such a well laid out plot. Taking you through his thought process, and allowing us to learn from this scenario. At this time, Don Vito was at the peak of his power and pretty much controlled the entire city of New York. He did share some of his power with a few other Dons, dividing the city, so that they can live in peace. In which was a genius move, as instead of constant fighting, they were peacefully operating in the shadows away from the law, and the public, maximizing their profits and thriving. So, to keep the peace, the five families agreed to a set of laws that they would enforce through the commission. At the time, the families were only engaging in outlawed activities, such as gambling, and smuggling liquor. However, some weren't satisfied with just these business ventures, and were looking to start something far more dangerous, but extremely more profitable than just the status quo. This is where the ambitious Virgil Salazzo comes in. Salazzo had been establishing his new business in manufacturing and dealing narcotics. He had built his infrastructure in Sicily. However to sell the product he needed a base in New York, and in order to be allowed to operate in New York, he needs to be backed by at least one of the families, but most importantly, he needs the blessing of Don Corleone. And so, after getting the support of the Tattaglia family, he met with Don Vito. As we all know, Vito was totally against this from the beginning, but wanted to see what Salazzo had to say. You're telling me that Tattaglia's guarantee our investment? Unfortunately, during the meeting Sonny makes a vital mistake, and shows his interest in the deal. This little incident gave Salazzo all he needed to proceed with his plans. And as we all know, a little while later, there was a hit on Don Vito. He does manage to narrowly survive, however he is in very bad shape and taken out of action. Therefore his oldest, but brash and reckless son Sonny in charge. But Sonny too would taken out, and this time it was definite. Which as we know is what brings out Don Vito, to finally settle this once and for all. Now, before we get into exactly how Vito knew it was Barzini, it's essential we know a bit more about these characters. Philip Tattaglia was the head and the founder of the Tattaglia crime family, one of the five major families of New York. Although he was initially somewhat liked and respected by the other Dons, his greed and unpleasant traits became unbearable by the other Dons. He would constantly rant, whinge and complain about running his business. Out of the five Dons, Tattaglia was seen as the weakest, because of his heavy reliance on others. Whether it was his constant need of Don Barzini's approval and backing, to and needing his sons to do most of the work for him. This does not mean that Tattaglia was a complete moron, he did indeed managed to become one of the five major bosses of New York, an achievement that not many ever managed to conquer. Therefore, even with his lack of strategic prowess in comparison to the other Dons, Tattaglia still found a way to survive amongst them. Don Emilio Barzini was the head and founder of the Barzini crime family, one of, if not the most powerful family in the criminal underworld, almost equal to the Corleone family. In the early days, Barzini was one of Don Giuseppe Mariposa's capos. However, his ambition and his former Don's actions made him become more disgruntled at his current position. After Mariposa went to war with Vito Corleone, Barzini was sent to assassinate Vito at a parade. However, Vito seems to be extremely lucky and managed to survive that attack. But Vito's retaliation was so swift and lethal, Barzini knew if he was to remain in power, or better yet take over, he would need to align himself away from his former powerful Don and accept the new shift of power. Therefore he betrayed Mariposa, took over the organization, and renamed it as the Barzini crime family. Barzini was definitely one of the most cunning and intelligent bosses, second to only Vito. His progressive attitude towards business, and lack of belief in what he considers as outdated ideals of loyalty, discipline, chivalry, or even honor, all made him focus on one thing, his profits. Which frustrates him, as some of the other Dons still believe in these principles and hold on to their traditions, which in his eyes, restrict them from maximizing their potential profits and therefore power. Barzini was a very eloquent and charismatic man, who carried himself as a very courteous and gentleman-like figure. However hidden very well behind all the witty remarks and socializing, was his true nature of treachery and ruthlessness. Unlike Tattaglia, who was more brazen and always reacted more barbarically, Barzini was calculated, he was a strategist, resorting to more prudent and So after Don Corleone was almost taken out and still recovering, Sonny had taken over and Sollozzo's plan was beginning to work. But he didn't expect Vito to survive, and that Sonny would retaliate as strongly as he did. However, Sollozzo was still hoping that he would convince Michael to persuade Sonny into making a deal. But as we know, Michael actually takes him out, and flees to Sicily. So now Sonny has embroiled the criminal underworld into a seemingly never-ending conflict with the other families. However, in a seemingly intricate plot played by Tattaglia, Sonny was also taken out, and this time they made sure they completed their job. And so, the family lost its leader, and were now in a very dire position. This is when Vito musters what strength he has to finally settle all this. Vito needs to make peace with the five families in order to survive, even if it is a sign of weakness, and he will have to settle for whatever would make the peace. But, this is only partly true. Vito was indeed seeking peace, but that's only to be able to bring back his son Michael from Sicily unscathed. He found out Michael was involved in the family business, so he has no choice but to have Michael take over. Vito also knew that at his current position, the family was too weak to take on so many foes from different directions. But perhaps, what Vito really wanted from this meeting, other than bringing back his son safely, was to uncover who is responsible for all this. These intricate attacks on the Corleone family were extremely precise and lethal, not to mention too bold for a man like Tattaglia to dare to formulate such a well-made plot. From his experience Bruno Tattaglia never showed such character or personality to even muster up enough courage to do such a thing by himself. Therefore, Vito knew something much more sinister was going on. The Commission was established to be the ruling body of the Mafia in the United States, it was to be used as an effective way to negotiate and coordinate different aspects of the criminal underworld. It was where the heads of the criminal organizations throughout the country would meet to settle their differences in order to avoid any unnecessary hostilities. Its main aim was to ensure that the families could all operate their businesses at the same time, maximizing their profits, and even helping each other prosper in some cases. The Commission was actually established by Vito Corleone. He managed to do this during a period known as the Pacification of New York. So now we know all the information we need, we can now take you through Don Vito's thinking process. Going into the meeting, Vito had two goals. The first was to make whatever deal was necessary with the other Dons, to bring back Michael. The second was to gain a better understanding on what is really going on. And so under the guise of wanting peace, to bring back essentially his only son and heir to the Corleone Empire, and finally unravel this scheme. Vito begins the meeting by laying out his cards. He states that he is willing to go back to the way things were before, especially since this war had costed both men their sons' lives. So unfortunate, so unnecessary. Interestingly, Barzini does praise Vito's modesty and character, however quickly reframes the discussion away from the loss they suffered, instead directing the conversation towards Vito's refusal of the narcotics trade. In which Tattaglia is also quick to comment on, almost as if he was told what to say and exactly when to say it. But it gets even more apparent. After Vito lists his reasoning behind his refusal, in which were all reasonable, Barzini quickly interjects and starts to sway the argument by dismissing Vito's reasoning as old-fashioned. Times have changed. It's not like the old days, where we can do anything we want. This was the first hint that Vito had that Tattaglia and Barzini were both involved. However, as the meeting progressed, Barzini began to unintentionally reveal more and more. In addition to the suspicious constant eye contact between Barzini and Tattaglia, hinting that they were subtly communicating. Probably the most obvious clue that Vito had, that allowed him to realize it was actually Barzini all along, was when he said. Even though it's very subtle, Barzini was actually threatening Vito. When he says refusal is not the act of a friend or him stating that Vito must share his connections, he is giving Vito an ultimatum. Either accept and be a friend, or refuse, and you'll be a foe. In addition to various other factors such as both Barzini's and Tattaglia's subtle body language and the phrasing they used, all confirmed Vito's suspicions. Also, many of you would have picked up on the small details we mentioned earlier in this video. Vito and Barzini have history. Back when Barzini was only a capo under Don Mariposa's organization, he had failed to take out Vito, and even after they made peace, Barzini had aspirations to take over from Vito, as the most powerful Don in the country. And he could only do so, if he had Vito's connections, which served as one of Vito's most important assets.