"The Italian Connection": More than Meets the Eye? A Theory

Okay, so I just finished watching "The Italian Connection" (1972), and while it's not exactly flawless popcorn entertainment, something's been bugging me. For those who haven't seen it, it's basically a pulpy crime flick about hitmen sent from New York to Milan after a heroin shipment goes missing. But it feels more like a character study than a cat and mouse game. The hitmen, especially Carmine, have depth that’s rare for a film of this type. It's like the film constantly tries to be something deeper. My theory revolves around Carmine. Initially, you see him as a cold, calculating killer, which is how he's presented. But as the film progresses, we see glimpses of something else. He's almost... bored? Disgusted? He's efficient at his job, sure, but there's a weariness there. Think about the scene where he's listening to opera. It feels totally out of place for a low-level thug, but it hints at a more cultured, possibly even intellectual side. Maybe he chose this life because he comes from nothing, maybe he did it because it was the only way he could go? What if Carmine isn't just a hired gun, but a disillusioned intellectual forced into this life? What if the "Italian Connection" isn't just about a drug heist, but about the corrupting influence of power and the loss of innocence? The heroin is almost a MacGuffin in the grand scheme of things, and the real story is about the slow decay of Carmine's soul in a life of senseless and constant death. Admittedly, this is just a theory based on my gut feeling, and maybe I'm reading too much into it. But there's *something* about the way Carmine is portrayed that suggests a hidden depth. The director (whoever he/she is) gave the character a strange complexity for what the film is. Let me know what you guys think! Am I crazy, or is there something more to "The Italian Connection" than meets the eye?