Both Julius Caesar and The Godfather are examinations of the destructive power of lawless behavior. In both cases, a group decides to ignore the law for its own gain. In both cases, this leads to destructive bloodbaths.

In Julius Caesar, Cassius and other senators who have grown worried about Caesar's growing power and popularity trick Brutus into joining them in a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar before he can have himself crowned emperor. Brutus participates out of a sincere desire to help the people of Rome. Others, such as Cassius, are envious of Caesar, once their friend and equal, and don't want to kowtow to him. After Brutus and the other senators lawlessly slaughter Caesar, peace doesn't come to Rome. Instead there is bloody civil war that costs many lives.

In The Godfather, the Corleones are an Italian mafia family. Their lives of crime and violence also cause bloodbaths. When a member of a rival mafia family shoots Don Corleone, the family patriarch and his son Michael retaliates by killing members of the rival group, a bloody war between the families ensues. This leads to the murder of Michael's brother Sonny. In the end, after much killing, the Corleone family moves to Las Vegas.

Both works show the consequences that come when people decide to step outside of the law and attempt to use criminal behavior to reach their goals. Cassius and Brutus don't get anything they want from taking the law in their own hands and end up committing suicide. Likewise, the Corleone family might make some money from crime, but the cost in lives and the moral callousness that develops might cause one to conclude that the high costs of crime outweigh the benefits.