MesseR, пробуй так
$req_down = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM `down_files` WHERE `type` = '2' ORDER BY `time` DESC LIMIT 3");
echo'<div class = "menu">';
while ($res_down = mysql_fetch_assoc($req_down)) {
echo'<a href="?act=view&id=' . $res_down['id'] . '">' . checkout($res_down['rus_name']) . '</a> (' . $res_down['field'] . ')<br/>';
}
echo '</div>';