Are there any "windows explorer" like filemanagers aviable or how difficult would it be to make one?

I think it is a little "backwards" to open the program first and then go into a lot of menus to open the file i want.
So it would be nicer if there was a folder-widget i could put on the desktop which would open up a chosen directory in a window with my files in it, and then just tap the file to open it with the right program.
-just as it is done on most desktopcomputers.