Character Foils: Santino and Michael Corleone

Michael and Santino Corleone are two men that were raised by the two same people: Vito Corleone and his wife. They've grown up with, what seems a typical brother-brother relationship. However, whatever the values and principles Santino and Michael might have been taught were, there is still a huge factor that separates both brothers: their personalities and way of thinking.

Santino Corleone is more of an impulsive man. Although he is Michael's elder brother, and the Don's son, he has managed to keep his own personality. Santino is a very flawed character. He has no control over his temper, and has little or no respect for his wife, as there are clear fidelity issues between the two of them. Another key thing to notice about Santino is that he does not put family first. He's more of a power-hungry man, than a family man. Although family is a huge deal for Santino, he finds it troubling to keep the family away from the actual family business.
This serves as a huge problem, as family is one of the most important factors to the story. Completely eliminating the unity of the family would not only make the story less interesting, but take away from the emotional content of the tale.

Michael is more of a independent, level-headed person. He thinks things through and speculates. He makes decisions based upon his experiences and his own perceptions and opinions. What makes Michael so different from Santino, is that he is able to resist impulse. He does not cheat on his long-term girlfriend, Kay Adams (until later on in the film) and keeps his family at close proximity (despite his very different set of values, opinions, and outlook on life). He does not long for power, but rather longs to do what he sees is a right decision (such as avenging an attack on his father.)

If we were to compare two small scenes in the film, "The Godfather," we'd be able to see fine details relating to Michael's and Santino's personalities, that we might not have noticed otherwise.
In one scene, we see Michael walking in a Sicilian park on a warm, sunny day with his first wife, Apollonia. What makes this scene even more special, is that they have the family [of Apollonia] walking behind them. This highlights the fact that Michael is a compassionate, family man. He always keeps the ones he loves with him, and because of this, they choose to follow him and guard him with love, respect, and loyalty.
In a short scene right after the previous one, we see Sunny walking in a dark hallway alone, followed by backdoor dealers and thugs. This scene signifies that Santino, is in fact, a passionate man that longs to work as a leader.

The character foils of Sunny and Michael help us understand the difference between compassionate and passionate. Passion is generally a very raw and powerful word that can describe negative traits just as much as it can describe positive things. Rather than being a compassionate man, we can see that Sunny is more of a passionate person, with limited time for family, and more time and interest in his work. Michael, also being interested in his work, has equal respect for his family and values each and every person.