From my perspective, "Amadeus" has two basic premises which the audience
member is either willing to accept within the context of the film or not
accept.  The first, which I consider right on target, is that Mozart is a
musical genius and Salieri is a hack.

The second, which gets very little ink, is that Mozart is also the better
man/person.  Salieri devotes much of his energies to ruining the life of
another person; Mozart does not engage in these types of pursuits.  The way
the film shows it, Salieri is already gaining awareness that Mozart is the
superior person before his death.  Subsequent to Mozart's death, Salieri is
fully confronted by his total lack of moral standards and hates the image
that he roundly deserves.

Don Satz