Not sure if this is the cause of the problem but if the div "<div id = ... > " is inside the partial items_ratings and it is the target of link_to_remote update when you click the link the page is going to look like <div id = ... > <div id = ... > ... rating here ...
.. try to find an existing rating ...
You may have taken out too much information, whats the div link_to_remote is updating? - Richard